The Forgotten Man
by Purrum
Summary: Eleven years ago Doctor Zarnow successfully abducted Chuck .This is a homecoming tale.
1. Chapter 1: The forgotten man

**The forgotten man.**

 **Eleven years ago Doctor Zarnow successfully abducted Chuck .This is a homecoming tale.**

 **Chapter 1 The forgotten man**

 **Air Force 1: on route from Singapore to Honolulu.**

One of the President's aides rushes his way from the comms room to the executive suite where the President was chairing a meeting with the Secretary of State and other White House officials. He pauses by the door, flattens down the wrinkles in his suit, adjusts his tie, and runs a hand across his hair to make sure the part was still in place.

"Sir, Mr President, We just had a confirmed report that "Rocketman" has released another hostage. Fifteen minutes ago a Caucasian man was allowed to cross the "The Bridge of No Return" into South Korea. The border guards believe he's an American but we so far haven't been able to confirm a positive ID."

The President listen curtly and after a small pause put a smile on his face.

"Well that is good news. This deal with North Korea just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter."

 **Phoenix** **Arizona** **– Buy More Showroom**.

It was getting late in the day and store manager Morgan Grimes was idly chatting to his Nerd Herd supervisor Tim Hopkins about their upcoming weekends. Morgan was not that interested in what Tim had to say, it was just Buy More policy that the managers had an interest in their employees welfare. Speak to your staff individually few a few minutes a week will increase their productivity the Buy More manual stated.

Morgan Grimes was the manager of a Buy More store in Phoenix Arizona, he was also married with four children. Two of the children were stepkids as his wife had them in a previous relationship. He meet his wife Karen, online, she was from Phoenix and after a long distance courtship which included many, many six hour drives, Morgan move to be with her.

After Chuck had disappeared Morgan had an epiphany moment. Life was too short to spend your day playing video games and avoiding work. Chuck had always been there for Morgan even though he spent nearly four years away at Stanford. Chuck was then only a phone call away. When Chuck got kicked out of college the two men were closer than ever. Morgan thought it was great that Chuck at times needed to lean on him. Until Chuck disappeared the two seemed to cruise through life without purpose working together at the Buy More. There were times that Big Mike would have loved to sack Morgan but then he knew that if he did that then Chuck would resign on the spot so he would be two employees down not one. Now that Chuck had disappeared without a trace Morgan really for the first time felt isolated and would sit for many hours by the fountain outside Chuck's apartment often until late at night.

What got Morgan going was a pep talk from a surprising source, Ellie Bartowski's love interest and rival Devon Woodcomb, one night after an extra-long shift at the hospital, Devon took the opportunity to sit at the fountain with Morgan and discuss the finer points of "being a man," including getting Morgan to tuck in his shirt and neaten up his hair. A newly motivated Morgan went to work the next day in a pressed shirt, tie and sweater-vest with slicked hair, and everyone assumed he was in a costume because it was Halloween. Big Mike Tucker noticed the change and when Morgan gate-crashed by taking the missing Chuck's interview time and offer himself for the assistant manager's position. Big Mike was impressed by the guts shown by Morgan and decided that someone showing that much fortitude deserved the job. Morgan's main rival was Harry Tang but Big Mike knew Harry Tang was a back stabber and hoped that Tang would quit in disgust.

With encouragement from Big Mike, Morgan grew into the role as Assistant Manager. Fortune would have it that a vacancy opened up in Phoenix at the same time Morgan and Karen were looking to take the next step. Morgan applied and won promotion to store manager in Phoenix Arizona. Morgan had been the Phoenix store manager for nine years. It kept him busy, but he took advantage of the power of his position to be able to have quality time with his expanding growing family.

While talking to Tim, Morgan kept an eye on the wall of screens, when suddenly something or should I say someone caught his eye. CNN was having a newsbreak, an image of a released North Korean hostage was displayed on all the screens. The image taken by a border guard on his cell phone showed a tall bearded man with hair long enough to make funny animal shapes. What stood out to Morgan was his eyes, deep chocolate brown, in an instant he knew who it was. Morgan grabbed the remote control off the desk, he hit the rewind and then freeze-framed the screen of all the televisions on the wall. He played it forward and back until he got a clear image then he froze the display again.

That is definitely him Morgan thought, as he stared at the image on the wall.

He was now very excited, he had to call someone important. He scrolled through his contacts and hit the pre-dial.

((AN) The Wikipedia pic of Zach at comic-com 2009 and add ten years))

 **Northwest** **Memorial Hospital Chicago :**

Ellie Woodcomb was doing the rounds of the patients under her care, she was making notes and adding to the patients history when her phone rang. Without taking care to see who was calling she accepted the call only to hear a very excited voice from her past.

"They've found our boy. They have found Chuck. He's in Korea!"

Ellie stopped walking and looked at her phone. She recognized the voice of Morgan Grimes. She had very little to do with him since he moved to Phoenix. Just an annual exchange of Christmas cards. After Morgan moved Ellie and her husband were both recruited to head up medical wings of one of Chicago's prestigious hospitals.

"Morgan Grimes, what do you mean? You better not be lying to me."

"Ellie!" Morgan pleaded, "I wouldn't lie about this. CNN has just had breaking news that Kim Jong-un has released another hostage, Chuck crossed the border an hour ago." Morgan spurted out. "Are you near a television?"

"No I'm not."

"Ok, I'll send you a screenshot of him."

Morgan raised his phone and took a photo. He then shared it with Ellie in Chicago. Ellie looked at the picture and it brought tears to her eyes. It certainly looked like him. Of course he was older and was down on weight. The candle of hope that had been extinguished years ago was suddenly relit.

The first response can from the Nurse Unit Manager when she heard the clipboard drop and clash on the floor. She approached the doctor and asked,

"Are you okay, doctor?"

Ellie picked up the clipboard and said she needed water. Both professionals returned to the nurse's station and Ellie grabbed a chair to sit in. The NUM returned from the drinking fountain and handed Ellie the cup.

"Their found him!" Ellie told the NUM, "My brother has been missing for ten years and he just been found alive!"

The NUM looked at her blankly as Ellie let out a squeal of joy.

 **Bridge** **of No** **return, DMZ. Korean Peninsula.**

The mood and moral at the DMZ was optimistic, The leader of the free world was meeting in Singapore with the unchallenged leader of the "Hermit Kingdom". The DMZ was one of the most dangerous places to be in the world. From the observation towers the South Korean troops were not seeing anything out of the ordinary. To add to the mood it was amazing how the North was often covered in fog so the border guards could not see anything literally.

Suddenly a figure appeared in the fog, a tall man with his arms outstretched wide beside him. Walking and arms out so he looked like a walking cross, the man appeared to walk with a deal of uncertainty. He paused as he got to the middle of the bridge, he then discarded the grey coat he was wearing, then he did a slow 360 degree turn and continued on towards the Republic of Korea side of the border.

The officer in charge of the checkpoint dispatched four armed border guards to approach the man. Each armed with their M-16 assault rifles the four guards ran quickly to surround the man. . The corporal of the guards first spoke to him in English but the hostage only stared blankly at them. One of the privates wondered if he was deaf and told the corporal so in Korean. The corporal said it could be a possibility. As the guards spoke amongst themselves they noticed that the prisoner was following their conversation.

The corporal asked the hostage in Korean;

"Who are you?"

"I am …" then there was a pause "I don't know my name. They call me Pisspants."

He responded in Korean, after eleven years of only hearing the Asian language, He only responded to Korean.

The man was searched on the bridge before being hurried off into the command post. Inside the command post was relatively warmer than the elements outside, for this the hostage was grateful, for having discarding the jacket he had on at the bridge the man was only wearing a well-worn t-shirt and grey military trousers that was too short for him. The man had sandals that where way too small for his big feet. His feet were not clean as he wore no socks .The officer in charge stood in front of him in order to question him.

"Why did you take your jacket of?"

"The soldiers told me you would shoot me if I didn't."

"We wouldn't do that. We believe in liberty and freedom." They nodded at each other. "Can I get you anything? A coat? A drink, or maybe a shower?" The last bit came as Pisspants smelt ordinary, a mixture of body odour and stale urine. His breath was bad as well.

"Why do they call you Pisspants?"

"First time they beat me I pissed my pants. After that it's what they called me."

"Well we won't call you that here. We have more respect for the individual."

Pisspants was escorted to an amenities block where he was allowed to have a shower. A replacement set of clothes were found for him., from the American personnel side as he was so tall. Even with the new clothes they still didn't fit him properly but it wouldn't matter because he was going to be transferred to a veteran's hospital in Seoul.

The released hostage was being driven under escort to a hospital in Seoul. It was during this trip that the driver had the radio on an English speaking radio station. At the end of the song the DJ came on and said

"That was the late great Michael Jackson."

"What, has he died? The hostage asked.

The words in English surprised the three other soldiers in the vehicle who all for the moment stared at him. The sergeant sitting opposite him was a tall solid Afro-American spoke to him.

"He's been dead for almost ten years."

There was a short pause before the hostage spoke again. "What year is it?"

"2018"

The soldiers watched the hostage did some mental arithmetic before he dropped his head

"What is it?" the sergeant asked to the hostage who by now was staring down into his own lap.

"I'm 37!" the hostage raised his hands to his face and began to cry into them.

Pisspants was initially hospitalized where he received a thorough examination, it was no surprise when the initial diagnosis was that he was severely malnourished. For someone to be six feet four he only weighed 105 pounds, approximately 70 pounds underweight. No surprise either that his vitamin D was deficient.

The Hostage had taken his shirt off and there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. You could see that every rib was exposed. He had white pasty skin and black body hair. A few scars were visible but no recent bruising, there was evidence of being beaten possibly torture, and that he could be suffering from any number of parasites from living in that part of the world with no immunizations.

He was hesitant when a nurse came along and wanted a blood sample. Pisspants had seen that she had a needle, and he needed to be calmed and rationalized with before a he consented to give a sample of his blood. If getting consent was hard, then actually getting a sample was even harder. He had to be restrained. He freaked out when he saw the needle and he panicked. It took four hospital orderlies to tie him down for everybody's safety.

The afternoon came and CNN was still reporting about the latest released hostage. They still hadn't released a name and it was frustrating Morgan no end. Finally Morgan rang CNN and asked to speak to someone from the newsroom.

"My name is Morgan Grimes and I am the manager of the Phoenix Buy More. I know who the released hostage is."

The woman on the switchboard received the call.

"Is that so? One moment sir I'm putting you through now."

"CNN newsroom Jacob speaking."

"Hello Jacob, my name is Morgan Grimes and I am the manager of the Phoenix Buy More. I know who the released hostage is. His name is Charles Bartowski and he's been missing for ten years."

"How do you spell it?"

"Charles B,A,R,T,O,W,S,K,I, Bartowski."

"Thank you. So he's been missing for ten years?"

"That's right."

"And where was he before he went missing?"

"He was living in Burbank California. I used to live there but I moved. Obviously."

"Okay. Now you say he has been missing for ten years. Did you report him missing? Is there anything as in proof, such as a police report?"

"Oh yes. We, well his sister and myself reported him missing to the Burbank Police. We filled out all this paperwork and the Police said they looked into it. Unfortunately they found nothing."

"So he went missing in 2008?"

"2007 actually. It's over ten years but not quite eleven."

"Fair enough. Look can I have your name again and your mobile number. We will get one of our reporters from LA to look into it and we will ring you back with anything we find out. Would you be comfortable to appear on the news if what you claim checks out?"

"I would be delighted." Morgan replied.

"Thank you for calling."

A couple of hours later the Phoenix Buy More had the cameras of all the major media outlets filming from the store. Tim Hopkins was hoping for Morgan's sake that he was right or he be the biggest idiot on television. Morgan for his part took on the role of Bartowski media manager, as Ellie was the last Bartowski in the US until she opted to take Devon's surname. It gave her some anonymity when the press went searching and could not find her. Morgan revealed the Chuck had a sister but he would rather call her first if she wanted to come forward for a statement.


	2. Chapter 2 : The abduction

Chapter 2: The Abduction

The Port of Los Angeles

They arrive via the Nerd Herder and Casey tells Chuck to stay in the car.

"This is how this is gonna work. I'm gonna go over there, rescue Sarah and capture Dr. Zarnow, shoot anybody who gets in my way. - You, you're gonna stay here." Casey commanded.

Chuck had a stupid look on his face.

"So in this plan, I basically do nothing?"

"Yep."

Casey got out of the car and ran towards the nearest warehouse with his gun poised and ready. Chuck watched him leave, the further Casey was away from the car the more nervous Chuck was getting. When Chuck got nervous he would often talk to himself as a way of reassuring himself.

"Let's do this. All right. All right. Now we wait. Stay in the car. Stay in the car. Do not leave the car. Do not leave this car."

While Chuck was keeping a look out in the car he sees Dr Zarnow leave a warehouse building in the opposite direction to where he saw Casey run off to. Chuck had only seen Dr Zarnow for a few seconds when he abducted Sarah from outside his apartment but long enough to recognize him. He went to reach for his phone but it wasn't there, he had put his phone and wallet on the bedroom dresser when he got home. In his haste to follow Sarah out the door he didn't pick his wallet or phone up. All he could do was watch Zarnow hurry away. Damn, Casey went the wrong way. Casey is searching in the wrong direction.

Always fast to make a foolish decision Chuck gets out of the car and goes in the warehouse door Zarnow came out of, once inside at the back of the warehouse he finds Sarah chained up and gagged.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Chuck asked before he removed Sarah's gag.

Sarah looked shocked that he was there and murmured something from behind the gag. Chuck removed the tape that gagged Sarah's mouth; instead of getting a thank you he got a spray.

"What are you doing here? Chuck, you have to get out of here!"

"No, I'm here to save you!"

"You shouldn't be here. - Besides, I have this well in hand."

"Yeah, it looks well in hand." Chuck of course was mentioning the fact that Sarah was chained to a hook that was suspended above her head.

"Just find me something to pick this lock."

"Right. Okay. Here, here, here." Chuck found a paperclip on the floor, picked it up and put it in one of Sarah's bounded hands. The sound of footsteps approaching made Chuck panic

"Go, go, go." Sarah urged then realising she wasn't gagged she called Chuck back. "Tape, tape."

Chuck re-stuck the tape across Sarah's mouth and then had to find somewhere safe to hide.

Chuck had barely found a spot to hide when Zarnow arrived, Zarnow stood in front of Sarah and removed the tape on her mouth.

"The helicopter is ready, Agent Walker. This is your last chance. We're going to a special facility where they're going to torture you. Really torture, not this child's play. Or you could just tell me. Who is Patient X?"

Chuck could see from his hiding place that Zarnow had produced a hypodermic needle.

"Something for the flight - " Zarnow menaced until he was interrupted by the noise coming from the corner.

"Oh, crap." Chuck said as he knocked over some junk in his hiding place.

"Run!" Sarah screamed at Chuck , but Chuck wouldn't run, he stood up to his full height and stepped out of his hiding place. Pointing his finger at Zarnow he accused.

"I know you. I know your secret. You've been feeding American science to North Korea for years."

Zarnow pointed his weapon at Bartowski, with a grin of delight he had him.

"Ah, Patient X. To think that my secrets are in that head of yours. It's an honor, really. Of course, to hell with honor. I'm here for the impressive dollar figure the human Intersect will fetch. Who will I offer you to first?" Zarnow menaced.

"Sarah" Chuck whined hopelessly

"Don't worry, Agent Walker. I'll take good care of him." Zarnow sneered.

Zarnow pointed his weapon and waved it to indicate he wanted Chuck to move in a certain direction. They left Sarah behind in the cage, Zarnow not knowing she had a piece of metal to pick the lock to her chains. He marched Chuck out of the end of the warehouse and over to the open rear door of the waiting helicopter.

"Get In!" Zarnow commanded.

Chuck hesitated, "What if I don't?"

Zarnow's reply was to fire two tranqs into Chuck's lower back. Chuck slumped forward and Zarnow heaved him into the back of the copter.

After putting the unconscious Chuck into a helicopter the pilot prepared to take off, meanwhile Sarah managed pick the lock open. Free from her bonds Sarah runs outside in pursuit of Zarnow and Chuck. She could heard the noise of the helicopter's rotors gaining speed as she ran out of the warehouse on top the open dock. Sarah and Casey meet on the dock and Casey has his gun drawn.

"Don't. They have Chuck!" Sarah tells Casey

The two agents watch as the helicopter lifts, gains height then turns and flies away. Without hesitating Major Casey calls for flight intercept. They helplessly watch as the helicopter banks again and disappears from view.

Zarnow tells the pilot "Proceed to bravo coordinates. The ship will be waiting there. It's about 10 miles offshore."

By the time the NSA got its copters in the air, Zarnow with Bartowski were gone.

* * *

"He was bundled into a helicopter? Do you have any idea on which foreign power has taken him?" General Beckman inquired.

"Bartowski claimed Zarnow was receiving money from the North Koreans! Agent Walker told me."

"Your report was rather terrifying, Major Casey. I am not pleased."

"Mam. Well, you know how I feel, General. I wanted to finish him but I was overruled."

"More important, Major. Can we blame this on the CIA?"

"Yes mam, I believe it was the incompetence of Agent Walker and the CIA. It should have been a NSA operation from the start."

* * *

After three days of not hearing anything from her brother, Ellie decided to ring Morgan once again if he had heard anything.

"Morgan, it's me Ellie! Have you heard anything? I'm getting really worried about Chuck."

"No. I haven't heard a thing either. Perhaps he's gone with Sarah. And having a wonderful time and haven't thought to ring home?"

"I hope so, but it's not like him not to call. He knows how much I fret and worry about him. It's not like him at all."

"I know, I know, but look on tomorrow night Chuck's got an important games competition, there is no way on earth that he will miss it. If he doesn't show up then I'll help you file a missing person's report to Police."

Burbank Police Station

They met at an agreed time and together side by side they walked into the Police Station. There was a long entrance until you got to the front desk where there was an officer on duty. The officer in charge was looking down and it appeared he was shuffling paperwork when they approached the bench. The officer acknowledged their presence by looking up at them.

"Can I help you?"

"I'd like to file a missing persons report. My brother has gone missing."

The Officer in Charge trying to sound sympathic.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What's your brothers name?"

"Charles Irving Bartowski."

The Officer in Charge started logging the details on his computer.

"Date of birth?"

"September 18, 1981."

"So he's 26 years old?"

"Yes that's right."

"What is his usual address?"

And so the form was filled out, the Officer in Charge asked questions and Ellie and Morgan did their best to answer.

"Distinguished marks or scars?"

"Couple of surgical scars on his right shoulder. He had a shoulder reconstruction when he was 13."

* * *

Solange Barnes was a big girl for her age. She was also the enforcer of middle School. Solange wasn't one to get on the bad side. She was mean and she came from a disadvantaged neighbourhood. The school applied for funding and this is how she got to go on school camp. She didn't take kindly to the escapades of a certain Morgan Grimes. Grimes had a way of annoying her and she was quick with the knuckles. She thought that Grimes was a little pervert and his slightly taller friend was guilty by association.

One of the schoolboys, identity unknown, was seen being a "Peeping Tom" looking in through the window of the girl's bathroom on camp. Solange thought that it was something that Morgan Grimes would do even though the window was too high for the small boy. Word quickly got out that she was gunning for the boy which was odd as Morgan wasn't on camp as his family couldn't afford it. Unable to find Grimes, Barnes zeroed in on the next best thing, Charles Bartowski.

Before Chuck could come to his senses a big black girl with bad body odour had him slammed hard against the outside wall of the shower block with his right arm slowly being twisted behind his back. Chuck who wouldn't have a growth spurt until the following year was no match for his attacker. Barnes continued to twist Chuck's arm demanding to know where Grimes was hiding. Poor Chuck was too scared to tell her Morgan wasn't here so Barnes continued the interrogation. That is until something popped.

The popping noise was Chuck's shoulder. Barnes had twisted his arm so far that the tendons in Chuck's shoulder failed and Chuck screamed hysterically in pain. His screams brought help in the form of a teacher who quickly got the bigger girl away from him. Chuck crumbled to the ground in agony. Chuck's only school camp experience lasted less than twelve hours as he was driven away for medical treatment. He hadn't even unpacked his bag or unrolled his sleeping bag. It was the last time his father came and got him, his father would leave shortly afterwards. Chuck linked the two events and his young mind decided he was the blame for his father's disappearance. If he hadn't got hurt then his father would have stayed. After his father had left Chuck refused to leave Ellie home alone again. The next time he was away from home was when he left for college.

* * *

"How long has he been missing?"

"Four days! It's been a four days since we've seen him. Last Friday week."

"And where did you last see him"

"At home. He walked out the front door."

"What time did he do this?

Ellie and Morgan looked at each other,

"About 8:30 pm." Morgan added, "He was following his girlfriend out the door. He was suppose to compete in a Call of Duty tournament last night but he didn't show."

"Girlfriend?" the Staff sergeant asked, "You said he followed his girlfriend out the door?"

"Aar, yeah Sarah. We barely know her. She came into the Buy More last week and we were having a getting to know you dinner."

"Have you spoke to Sarah since you last saw Charles?"

"No. We haven't seen her either."

The officer in charge adjusted his seating position.

"So Charles hasn't been seen since following his girlfriend out the door. Do you think they are together? Should we file a report on her as well?"

Ellie and Morgan turned and looked at each other, they hadn't thought to think Sarah was missing as well.

"I don't remember her surname." Ellie said humbly

"It's…." "It's right on the tip of my tongue." Morgan strummed his fingers on the desk. He was thinking. "Walker! Sarah Walker!"

"Do you know where she lives?"

"No." Morgan shook his head. "But I do know where she works. The Weinerlicious in the Burbank Mall."

"Well that's a start." The Officer in charge said. "We'll ask for the company's employment records to see if that points to anything."

* * *

Three weeks later Ellie got an official visit from an LA police officer from the Missing Persons Unit. Officer Gates who was looking into Chuck's disappearance had at this stage regrettably found no trace of Chuck or his girlfriend Sarah Walker. The last ping of Chuck's phone was in his bedroom three days after the night he disappeared when his phone battery went flat. His wallet was next to the phone.

His bank accounts had no activity since the day he disappeared. There had been no large cash withdraw preceding his disappearance. Whatever happened to Chuck, it was without any form of identification.

Worst for Ellie was it seems that Sarah Walker doesn't exist. The Police checked the Weinerlicious employment records and they were incomplete, the address she gave was "DC". She didn't even fill in her date of birth. There was no record of where she was living in LA nor was there a recorded bank account. She had an arrangement with her supervisor to be paid in cash on Fridays. Further investigation in the DC area came up blank so we raised the issue with the FBI.

"Linked to the disappearance of your brother we elevated the case to one of abduction." The officer said.

The FBI checked their records and they ran a facial recognition search and came up with two possible hits. The officer produced two printouts of the possible hits, Rebecca Franco of Arizona and Eva Anderson of DC. Ellie looked at the images but she couldn't be sure. She had only met her once and her priority was cooking dinner. The Rebecca Franco image, the girl was so young.

"Look I better call Morgan Grimes, he's Chuck's best friend and he met Sarah a couple of times."

Two hours later Ellie and the FBI agent were standing in front of the Nerd Herd desk with Morgan Grimes and a couple of his white shirt employees. Ellie knew these two and she would honestly describe them as creepy and slimy.

"Thank you for helping us, Morgan."

"Of course, Ellie, no problem, I'd do anything to help get Chuck back."

"I know you will. You are a great friend!"

Morgan blushed a little but there was a FBI agent here so it was straight down to business. With a press of a key the screen on the computer came to life.

"This vision was taken by one of the Nerd Herders. Look in order to sell a product we have to know how it works. So we will experiment and sometimes record what's happening in the store."

The vision by a Nerd Herder Morgan wouldn't name seemed to be shot hiding behind shelving, it clearly had a young blonde woman standing patiently by the Nerd Herd counter, she was casually looking around until she notice the camera and the her face went all serious and a shake of the vision then it stopped. She had clearly intimidated the cameraman.

More vision was found of Sarah in her Weinerlicious uniform, taken from a camera fixed low to the floor it showed her walking in from the front doors all the way to the counter. As she got closer, because of the angle, the view showed her legs get bigger and bigger as the rest of her moved out of view. Another shot showed Sarah and Chuck walking away from the camera and out the door holding hands. Some more vision taken from the Store's doors showed Chuck and Sarah sitting in the chairs outside the Weinerlicious having food.

The vision ended and Morgan pulled a memory stick out of the PC and handed it to the FBI agent.

"I know it's not much but I hope it helps. For Chuck, for all of our sakes."


	3. Chapter 3 : The Farm

**Chapter 3** **The Farm**

 **CIA training base,** **Virginia.**

The Farm's cafeteria had plenty of spare tables and the television was tuned to FOX, Amy Barrett thought it was odd, normally the television was tuned to CNN but today all CNN wanted to report on was about a porn star and the President. Sarah Walker was standing there with the remote in her hand and paying close attention to the news. Her colleague and best friend, if spies could have friends, thought it was unusual for Sarah to be fascinated by the story developing out of Korea, some misfortunate soul had just been release from a North Korean gulag. To Amy it was just some poor bastard that got caught by the inhumane regime and our government denied any responsibility. She stood by and observed how her friend and fellow agent was subconsciously fiddling the simple plain gold necklace she was wearing.

* * *

On the Santa Monica beach at sunrise, Sarah got out of her car and walked down to join Chuck on the sand. She had spent the night haggling with her superiors in Washington while watching Chuck sit on the beach. She took her heals off, something about walking barefooted on the sand always appealed to her, Chuck didn't act surprised when she sat down beside him, she guessed that somehow he was expecting her.

"How long you been here?"

"All night."

He nodded with acknowledgement and then looked back towards the sunrise.

"There's nowhere I can run, is there?"

"Not from us. Talk to me, Chuck."

"Yesterday, I was making eleven fifty an hour fixing computers, now I have one in my brain." He paused for a moment and then looked away "And I can't figure out why Bryce did this, why he chose me? What are you gonna do with me? What happens now?"

"For now, you go back to your own life. We'll protect you and you'll work with us. In order to protect you properly I'll have to insert myself into your life. The good news is that for my cover, I'm going to be your hot girlfriend."

"Hot Girlfriend?" Chuck raised an eyebrow, "Cover hot girlfriend. Do I get a say in all this?"

"Not unless you want that NSA burnt-out John Casey to be your boyfriend."

"Heavens no." he shook his head and laughed, "I thought you said you were not funny."

"A spy has her secrets."

She gave him a light shoulder bump as they both laughed together.

He paused then asked about the thing that he most cared about, "My sister, my friends, are they in danger?"

"Just tell them nothing to keep them safe. Oh I need you to do one more thing for me. Trust me, Chuck. I know what I'm doing, I've been trained to do this."

It took him a little while to process the new arrangement in his life. She could tell he was getting restless, like he was formulating an idea.

"Well if you are going to be my cover girlfriend I better do something about it."

With that comment Chuck stood up and brushed the sand off his backside then offered a hand and help Sarah to stand in the sand. She was puzzled what he meant by that but she didn't question him. She simply followed him to the penny arcade on the Santa Monica Pier. The arcade had a variety of different machines with flashing lights and music. It had been years since she wasted some quarters in this arcade filling in time waiting for her father to collect her. She knew he was off somewhere trying to pull one scam or another.

Chuck had walked past the inline racing consoles and the shoot them up war games to stop and insert a few coins into a showcase where if you were lucky you could collect a prize. She watched as Chuck manoeuvred the crane to collect a small box and deposit it in the shute for collection.

"Well if you are my girlfriend I better give you a gift as a token to our relationship."

With that comment he opened his prized box and pulled out a small golden necklace that had a small gold ingot on it. He them adjusted the clasp and put it round Sarah's neck. Sarah thought for a moment to protest but she changed her mind. He stood back to admire his handiwork. He gave a small smile. Instinctively Sarah returned the smile. Part of her was thinking that this could be a great assignment. He asset was a naturally a considerate male, bit of a rarity.

"Give me a few weeks to save," he said "and I'll get you something with quality."

"You don't have to bother" she tried to rebuke him, "really I can get something from the agency."

"No, I insist." He said firmly, that surprised her a little because up to then he had been rather passive with her. He had allowed her to overrule him on everything since the night club. One insignificant little item and he was putting his foot down. She would allow him one small victory. As long as he didn't make a habit out of it.

* * *

Amy had known Sarah for a long time, they first teamed up with a couple of other recruits soon after she graduated from the Farm. Sarah Walker had been a field agent for just over a year when she was designated the formal leader of this squad, their role was counter espionage, operating mostly in Central America dealing with the drug trafficking that was endemic. The "CAT Squad" as they were informally known was successful at getting rival syndicates to face off against one another.

The squad was one of the CIA Director's covert operations, the squad reported directly to him. In this high stakes and deadly game the tension and stress was just as high. It was inevitable that the pressure would affect the team, suspicion and mistrust soon wreck the cohesion of the squad and counter accusations flew and charges were even laid against one of the team members even though there wasn't any proof. When the dust finally settled the squad was disbanded and the members seconded to other operations.

Years later, Amy, wanting a change from active deployment applied for and was accepted to be a trainer at the Farm. Amy's speciality was formal etiquette. The recruits had to be able to blend in with high society if the need arise. They had to know their "P's" and "Q's"

She was delighted when she discovered that Sarah was there, Sarah had become an instructor on the martial arts and hand to hand combat. Rookies learnt real quick not to get on the wrong side of Instructor Walker. Sarah proved the old proverb "The bigger they are the harder they fall." Fastest way to get on her bad side was to ask her out for a date.

Seeing Sarah standing there Amy decided to walk over to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Amy asked as she stood next to Sarah.

If it wasn't for the fact Sarah instantly recognized the voice or Amy could have been in big trouble. Sarah had been so engrossed by what was on the television that her natural instinct of fighting when surprised almost kicked in. Sarah turned to look at Amy, Amy noticed the concern on her face.

"I need to go to the bathroom!" Sarah stated and immediately walked away.

Amy stood there and watched Sarah disappear into the toilets, after a few minutes in which Sarah had not come out, Amy decided to see if there was something wrong. So she entered the toilets. There was only one cubicle door closed inside, and Amy could see the shoes and feet of her friend from under the door.

"Are you alright in there?" Amy asked as a concerned friend.

Sarah didn't respond, but then Amy heard the toilet flush and Sarah opened the door. A little too quick if she was really using the toilet for what it is for. Amy could see that Sarah was actually holding back tears, her eyes were moist but not to the stage of crying. Sarah moved over to the washbasin and washed her hands and then used the paper towels to dry them.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay Blondie."

Sarah turned her head to look at her but she didn't say anything.

"Come on" Amy said with a smile "Let's get a nice cup of chamomile tea, it will relax you and we'll talk about it."

Amy managed to coax Sarah out of the bathroom where they when to the cafeteria and got a pot of chamomile tea to share, they found a vacant table by the tinted windows that overlooked car park. They positioned their chairs so they both looked out the window and more importantly no one behind them could see their faces. Amy poured two cups from the pot and waited for Sarah to speak.

Amy Barrett's parents were both counter intelligence agents, they spent an considerable amount of time in Europe during the Cold War. Amy spent her teenage years in a prestigious English boarding school for girls. It was here that she adopted many of the English habits like enjoying a nice cup of tea, her parents even sent her to a finishing school in Switzerland for a year. Just to teach her some good manners and etiquette. After graduating she returned to the US for university, she was targeted for recruitment by the intelligence community and was accepted by the CIA and trained at the Farm. Her results at the Farm were passable, she finish midway in her class. Her English habits and background was one of the reasons for her selection to the CAT squad, she was socially different enough from the rest that no one would think she would have anything to do with the others.

Not surprised that Sarah wasn't coming forth so Amy pressed on.

"That guy on the television, the prisoner from North Korea, who is he to you?"

Sarah looked down at her cup of tea, and stared into nothingness for awhile, then suddenly in a soft voice she answered her friend.

"He was an asset I was in charge of, foreign agents abducted him and I lost him. They made him disappear into thin air. We searched for months but found nothing"

She continued to look down at her cup of tea. "He was my asset, he trusted me and I failed him."

Her confession to Amy was a surprise, the fact that her friend, the most professional agent she ever worked with had admitted that she had failed. Amy started to wonder if this was why Sarah was no longer in the field.

"He was sweet!" she said whimsically

"Sweet, aye, are you sure he wasn't much more?"

"He was my asset!" Sarah protested. "But he was a really nice guy."

"He left an impression on you!"

"He did, he did."

Sarah picked up her tea and took a sip. Amy never saw her friend so melancholy.

"He was kind, thoughtful, polite and funny."

Amy thought that Sarah must have had it bad for this guy.

"If you weren't an agent, do you think something could have become of it?"

"That's a hypothetical." she paused, "Maybe, he was genuine, and he was a nice guy that just needed someone to give him a push in the right direction."

"Would you'd have like to do the pushing?"Amy was really reaching now. Sarah for her part looked away for a moment by looking at the ceiling.

"Definitely. He had so much potential. I was surprise he wasn't already spoken for when I met him."

"Well he'll be coming home soon. Here's your chance!"

"I don't know, years can change a person, he'll have a lot of baggage."

"Well you could become his baggage handler."

Sarah laughed.

"He said that to me once."

* * *

"So yeah I live with my sister and her boyfriend Captain Awesome," Chuck explained to her, continuing to freely give details about his life to the secret agent.

"No," Sarah laughed, finding the nickname quite amusing.

"It's true though," he said, merriment in his eyes and a pleased look at getting her to laugh. If only he knew what a real achievement that was.

"So wait, wait, you call him Captain Awesome?"

"Yeah wait till you meet him," he told her, as he noticed her smile widened. "Everything he does is awesome; climbing mountains, jumping out of planes… flossing."

She laughed again at his description of his sister's boyfriend. "That's funny," she couldn't help but comment.

Chuck smiled to himself, glad to see that his date seemed to be enjoying herself. "Well I'm a funny guy," he stated with humour in his voice.

"Clearly...which is good, 'cause I am not funny." Sarah said as she shook her head.

"Is that your big secret, by the way? Cause I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, plenty. Believe me."

"And I was thinking, maybe she's a cannibal or she's really not that funny. And I was pulling for cannibal 'cause I never met one before."

Once more she laughed with him, he really was a funny guy.

"Uh, not a cannibal. But I just did come out of a long relationship so I may come with baggage."

"Well, I could be your very own baggage handler!" Chuck couldn't believe he just said that, he laughs and Sarah laughs along with the joke.

* * *

Amy had a fit of laughter as Sarah retold the story. It wasn't very often that Sarah spoke about the past. Amy was always curious on how Sarah ended up teaching at the Farm. Sarah had been the late Director Langston Graham's favourite enforcer. With Graham at her back she could have gone on to be anything she wanted and get the postings she desired. Yet somehow, for whatever reason she ended up here teaching the recruits martial arts.

"Sarah could I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, but I might not answer it!"

"Why are you here, at the farm?"

"I'm just serving out my 20. Once I have my 20 up then I'll probably leave."

"So you are just waiting on your pension?"

"Yes." Sarah nodded her head.

Amy thought it was incredible that someone with Sarah's talents was just filling in time awaiting her pension. She could have been so much more.

"You could be a 'Station Chief' somewhere."

Sarah shook her head. "That option closed when Chuck disappeared. Graham sent me to Burbank on a final warning, after the Larkin fiasco but my asset got abducted, and I searched for months until Graham put a stop to it. I had called in favours, burnt informants, crossed lines, stood on too many toes and pissed off the wrong superiors. Graham lost confidence in me because he thought I was being irrational. I had lost his trust and he noted it on my file. Graham gave me some wet work to get me out of the country and then he got himself assassinated. The replacing Director said to me that I was on my last chance so I came here. I've been training recruits ever since."

"But you've had a stellar career" Amy protested.

"All's not what it seems. That's the thing about the spy world, it's full of half truths, lies and wild speculation."

"Oh."

"Truth is my career peaked back with the CAT squad, the moment we put our attention on Augusto Gaez my career projectory stalled and it started falling back to earth."

Sarah smirked and finished her cup.

"Gaez ruined my career, so I put bullet in his brain."

There was a sudden feeling of butterflies in Amy's stomach, a pang of guilt as only she knew that Gaez had an informer, her. Amy had access to a secret account in a bank on the Cayman Islands that Gaez would send money to every time Amy passed on critical intel. The account had millions of dollars in it and it was only accessible by a secret pin code that only Amy knew. Amy had wondered why Gaez went quiet now she knew. To this stage she had never accessed the money for fear of getting caught but she would check the balance every now and then. Amy knew that in a few short years she would resign with her pension and then she will start living the good life with the illicit funds. Now she knew Gaez was dead she might bring her retirement forward. That will calm those damn butterflies.

 **(AN) A reviewer ask if this story was going to be like the Tom Hank's "Castaway" film. As you can see it's not but there already is a Chuck story based on that film. ((Everything She Ever Wanted by MySoapBox.))**

 **Please leave a review.**


	4. Chapter 4: Reconnection

**Chapter 4: Reconnection**

 **Veterans Hospital Seoul.**

Pisspants was transferred from the forward observation post to the Seoul Veterans Hospital. He was initially hospitalized where he received a thorough examination. For someone to be six feet four he only weighed 105 pounds, approximately 70 pounds underweight. It was no surprise when the initial diagnosis was that he was severely malnourished. No surprise either that his vitamin D was deficient. The examiners wanted to do a blood check as he could be suffering from any number of parasites from living in that part of the world with no immunizations. He was hesitant when a nurse came along and wanted a blood sample. Pisspants had seen that she had a needle, and he needed to be calmed and rationalized with before a he consented to give a sample of his blood. If getting consent was hard, then actually getting a sample was even harder. He had to be restrained. He freaked out when he saw the needle and he panicked. It took four hospital orderlies to tie him down for everybody's safety.

One of Pisspants treating doctors , Dr Kim Moon-il, was looking at the contents of an email he had just received. He opened the attachment and read the contents. He then sent the attachments to his printer and then collected the printed documents and put them on his clipboard. The thing that excited him the most was there was a photograph of the patient he was treating. He re-read the open attachment on his screen then he got a call from pathology to say that the results of his blood test were complete.

After a short pause, he printed off another email with the blood test results and put the paperwork into his clipboard. He then hurried off to speak first to another consulting physician before meeting up with his patient.

"We have some good news. We believe we now know who you are!"

This caught Pisspants attention, he before that had been resting on a bed quietly watching Korean daytime television. To Pisspants the mattress on the bed was so soft that he felt like he was lying on clouds. Occasionally there was a news break and his picture was up on the screen. He stopped watching the television and rose and stood in front of the doctor. The doctor removed a couple of sheets of a4 paper from his clipboard and handed them over to him.

"You're Charles Irving Bartowski also known as Chuck."

The doctor paused as he let the patient read the scanned missing person report that the doctor had received via email. The patient looked carefully and the documents, first one then the other. He re-read them again before looking back at the doctor.

The doctor was expecting some sort of elation from the patient but all he managed to say was,

"Yeah, It's me."

As the doctor watched, Chuck raised both his hands to his head as if to stop his head exploding, something had unlocked the door to the deep recesses of his brain, his memory and it was all coming out. What he had so preciously locked away from his North Korean capturers was now front and centre.

"Chuck, Chuck, my friends call me Chuck."

"Well Chuck it's nice to meet you." Said the doctor smiling.

"Thank you", he paused then had another thought, "I must call my sister. My sister must be worried sick!"

The doctor shook his head. "Sorry we have been unable to find your sister. There is no listing of her in any telephone directories. Who knows, it's been ten years, maybe she got married and changed her name."

Chuck's elation quickly changed to dispair. He dropped his shoulders and began to slouch. It was noticeable to the doctor who didn't want his patient spiralling.

"We do however have the phone number of the other person who filled in the missing person report, Mr Morgan Grimes. It was Mr Grimes that initially contacted us about your identity because otherwise you were a complete mystery to us."

"Yes please." Chuck replied, the name was familiar but it had been so long he couldn't remember why. This mystery was solved when the doctor had moved both of them into a conference room and then placed the call. Chuck could hear through the speaker the dial tone then the call was answered.

"Phoenix Buy More, you're speaking to Morgan Grimes! How can I help you."

"This is Dr Kim Moon-il of the Seoul Veterans Hospital. Are you the civilian that contacted authorities about the identity of the released hostage?"

"Yes that's right."

"I'm here with Charles Bartowski now and we would like your assistance in helping Charles to remember key things about his life."

"Chuck, dude it's me Morgan!"

Silence from the other end of the phone, Chuck couldn't remember. Morgan realised that Chuck would need assistance.

"What sort of system are you using over there?" Morgan asked

The Korean doctor told him.

"Okay then why don't we go visual, I will have Tim here tell you how we can all see each other."

It took only a matter of a few simple questions and instructions from Tim before the Buy More wall of screens have the two men in Korea on display. There was suddenly a loud noise of cameras going off, the clicking and strobe of flashguns drowned out the first comments Chuck made.

"It's a bit if mayhem here!" Morgan yelled.

Morgan swung his phone around to show that there was a large crowd of reporters and cameramen in the store. Morgan quickly turned his camera on his phone away from the crowd and back onto him. The wall now showed Chuck in Korea and Morgan in Phoenix.

"Sorry about that." He said, "We have reporters and cameramen all over us. They have practically set up camp outside."

Morgan was watching the screens that were showing the two men in Korea. He was a little chuffed as the South Koreans seem to have more advanced technology than us Americans. Most of the screens he was watching all came from Korea.

Morgan looked at Chuck on the screens and understood, Chuck would need a hint.

"I'm Morgan Grimes. You and I have been friends since we were both six years old. I was your next door neighbour. We worked at the Burbank Buy More together."

Chuck nodded and said nothing, he tilted his head and had a faraway look. Then he smiled and said "The Bearded Troll."

Morgan rolled his eyes, of all the things to remember, Chuck remembered the online name Morgan used.

"That's right , you remember, it's my online name for Call of Duty. Look I don't have a beard anymore."

"You look good!" Chuck said.

"Thanks buddy, of all the things to remember, my anonymous user name and you broadcasted it to the whole world. But it's great you remember that."

Morgan then heard a weak "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, I haven't used it in years, I have a family now and they keep me busy."

"Yes." Chuck said and he sound that he was miles away.

"It's just great to hear your voice again. We have a lot to catch up on."

"We do. What about my sister?"

"Ar, right, um, Ellie married her boyfriend Devon Woodcomb. They now live in Chicago with their five kids. Five kids can you believe it?"

Morgan heard a soft "Five kids".

"And get this," Morgan continued, "I'm a manager of a frigging Buy More. Here in Phoenix Arizona."

"I'm glad for you."

"Thanks Buddy. If you want you can always work here with me. The manager and I are real tight."

Morgan was the only one to laugh at his joke so he felt awkward, especially on national television, he needed to do something real quick so the nation would forget his faux pas. He had one ace that he could play, he was going to hold back but now seemed like the right time.

"Buddy what do you say if I can get Ellie on the phone so we can have a conference call together?"

"Can you do that?" Chuck asked hopefully.

"This is the Buy More, we can do almost anything with my good friend Tim here."

As he said it he patted Tim on the back. A quick whisper to Tim and a short council was had then Tim gave the thumbs up and Morgan picked up another phone and dialled.

"Hello Dr Ellenor Woodcomb speaking!"

"Ellie, its Morgan Grimes, I'm on another phone."

"What do you want? I very busy."

"How would you like to speak directly to Chuck? I have him on my other phone right now."

"You're kidding Morgan, You wouldn't do this to me."

"I'm not kidding Ellie. Where are you now?"

"I'm at work at the hospital."

"Okay, Can you get to a conference room and we will see if we can set it up so you can see Chuck in Korea."

"There's one just down the corridor, and I'm about to enter it."

Morgan could hear in the background noise as Ellie had stopped talking and barged into the conference room. First he heard the sound of her footsteps, then opening the conference door and then hearing Ellie order everybody out because she needed it to talk to her long lost brother in Korea. Morgan could hear the protests, first about her interrupting the meeting then other voices wishing to stay so they could witness it. With that now sorted out one of the males in the room offered to compete the hook-up. Ellie gave him her phone.

"Hello?"

"Morgan Grimes, Phoenix Arizona , We're gonna create a visual hook up with Ellie's brother in Korea. It's technical so I'm going to pass this phone over to one of my Nerd Herders and he will help make it happen."

"Hello. This is Tim. What sort of setup up have you there?"

The male gave Tim as much information as he could. Tim took some notes and then decided on the right course of action. Tim gave a list of instructions over the phone to be followed. The television in the hospital conference room suddenly came to life and there in front of Ellie was a split screen of Phoenix Buy More and the Korean Veterans Hospital. The speaker phone in the middle of the conference table took over as the audio.

The high pitch squeal that Ellie gave off almost caused many sound technicians to pop their collective eardrums. Well they definitely had audio. Ellie's squeal was worst than when you get feedback though the microphone. Everyone in unison put their fingers to their ears and then gave them a bit of a wiggle to release the pain. Ellie could see both Chuck and Morgan doing the same thing. When they stopped she squealed again. Not quite as loud or long.

"Thanks Elle, I needed that." Chuck moaned.

Ellie blushed. She had that many questions she was overwhelmed and couldn't say a thing.

Morgan chipped in. "See I told you 'that's our boy'."

"Chuck where the hell have you been?"

Morgan chipped in again, "Ellie, we're on live television, coast to coast. I forgot to tell you."

"Gee thanks Morgan I haven't done my hair, or make-up and you have me on national television."

"You're beautiful." She heard Chuck say from South Korea.

"Thank you." Ellie blushed.

"Who's that behind you?" Chuck asked.

"Just a group of fellow doctors, unwilling to give up their meeting room."

That brought a small cheer behind her. There was a smattering of suppressed laugher in Arizona and in Korea. And that's when they saw to their horror, Chuck had smiled and you could not miss the fact that he was missing half his teeth. Morgan noticed it and he wondered if Ellie did too. Morgan heard a gasp that could only come from Ellie. She saw it too and demanded.

"Chuck, what happened to your teeth?"

Chuck stopped smiling, he suddenly got all self-conscious. He looked away from the camera and mumbled,

"I got in a fight."

It was hard to hear what he said but the look of his body language was enough for Ellie not to continue that line of questioning. She decided to try a different tact, something more cheery.

"Chuck! We don't live in LA anymore, we've moved to Chicago."

"Yes, I've been told."

"You will have to come and live with us. We're got a big house and I will prepare a room for you."

Chuck just nodded his head and turned to look at his doctor, he was now wondering how long the Koreans would keep him before they cleared him to fly home. Home wherever that is? Chicago wasn't home, he had never been to Chicago. He really wasn't that keen to be in a house with five kids, the idea scared him.

Ellie's mothering stepped in, she wanted all of Chuck's medical records so she could peruse them at her convenience.

"Dr Moon, I want you to email to me the results of all the tests your hospital has performed on my brother."

Dr Moon looked at Chuck, Chuck just shrugged his shoulders.

"Chuck do you give permission for Dr Woodcomb to have your results?"

"You might as well," Chuck said, "You know she will run her own tests when I get home."

"I'm a doctor and his sister. I have his best interests at heart."

"Of you do." Chuck replied patronizing.

Dr Moon chipped in. "Dr Woodcomb, just remember that Chuck doesn't like needles."

Now that his records will be forthcoming Ellie decided to ask a few questions to her brother.

Chuck, I can't believe it's you."

"You better believe it."

"Chuck, I thought you were dead! How could you do this to me?" Ellie said in an accusery tone, she then turned around when she heard groans coming from behind her. She could see the disapproval from the others in the room.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault."

"Not your fault? Well come on tell me."

"I don't want to get into it!" Chuck was getting real defensive now.

Dr Moon could see where this was going and he knew that his patient was getting upset. What the rest of the world couldn't see was that Chuck was wired up to a machine and his vitals were starting to spike and get erratic.

There was an awkward pause between the siblings, so Morgan thought he'd chip in and defuse the tension.

"Chuck can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Chuck replied after a pause.

"That girl you were dating, did she have anything to do with your disappearance?"

"No." Chuck's response was short, sharp and definite he then lent forward and terminated the call.

"Shit!" Morgan said to no one in particular, he looked at Ellie on the screen and apologised, "Sorry Ellie, I think we have pissed him off"

* * *

Two pairs of eyes were watching the broadcast from Langley, Amy looked at Sarah and mused "Well at lest he didn't blame you."

Sarah held it together so not to burst into tears. Sarah was always emotionally constipated. Amy knew it and held out a box of tissues for Sarah to use.

"That poor man's sister, she's a bitch!"

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	5. Chapter 5: Homcoming King

**Chapter 5: Homecoming King**

DevonWoodcomb stood waiting patiently by luggage carousel alone, he had volunteered to collect Chuck from the airport. While Ellie would have liked to be there with him, having a domestic with your long lost brother on national television was not a good way to start a family reunion. She also knew it would be too hard to keep the young Woodcombs under control in such a busy environment. She opted to stay home and decorate the house with a big "Welcome Back Chuck" banner. She had thought about the wording of her banner and thought rightly than to say "Welcome Home" wouldn't be right because Chuck's last home was in California. Even while looking after five kids Ellie still managed the time to cook some his favourite treats. She assumed that his tastes had not change due to his long incarceration.

The other advantage in sending Devon to pick up Chuck was his height, Devon could easily see over the crowd to spot his tall brother-in-law. Devon believed that Chuck would have to collect his luggage off the carousel before leaving and that's where he'd find him. Devon found a good vantage place to see the passengers stream in from their flight to claim their luggage. It wasn't long before he spotted Chuck walking with the rest but Chuck didn't need to stop because he travelled light. All Chuck had was a soft bag slung over his shoulder. Chuck was about to walk straight past him before Devon stepped forward and called him.

"Hey Chuckster!" But Chuck kept walking, damn he didn't stop. Quick to call out again "Bartowski!" This time it did the trick, Chuck stopped and turned to the man who called him. Devon saw that Chuck was hesitant so he stepped follow and extended his hand. Chuck looked then took the hand and shook it.

"Chuck It's me, Devon, Ellie's husband."

"Of course you are. You haven't aged a day." Chuck said while still holding his hand.

"It's all that good cooking Ellie does. And a twice a day workout."

Devon then scanned around Chuck, "So no luggage?"

"They don't let you keep souvenirs from where I've been."

Devon laugh because he thought Chuck said a joke, but Chuck kept a straight face so then Devon wasn't sure.

The men walked briskly to Devon's car, a top of the range Mercedes E class.

"Nice Car" Chuck said.

"All part of the awesome job package. I get to drive it for twelve months then I give it back for a new one."

Devon popped open the trunk and Chuck threw his shoulder bag in, he then got in the passenger side and belted up. Devon like Chuck was a big man and Devon drove a big man's car. There was plenty of legroom for Chuck to stretch out.

"This car has awesome leg room."

"Very roomy" Chuck agreed.

It took longer to get out of the airport parking than it took to get home to Ellie and the kids.

When Devon drove his car up the driveway Chuck could see for the first time the style of house that Devon and Ellie had bought. It was a two storied white brick house with a Georgian front. On both sides of the front door were Georgian columns that were decorated with red and blue ribbons.

Chuck had a case of the butterflies, he knew he was going to get a grand welcome even though in his mind he didn't deserve it. He had got angry with his sister the only time they spoke. The South Koreans and the US State Department had kept the Woodcombs informed about Chuck's homecoming.

Both men got out of the car and Devon popped the trunk to retrieve Chuck's bag and carried it in for him. As Devon opened the door and stepped aside to allow Chuck to enter. Standing in the entrance hall was Ellie and the five Woodcombs. Ellie had gone to the effort of dressing for the occasion. She was wearing a deep purple cocktail dress with a vee front and cut just below the knee.

Chuck felt humble and embarrassed as Ellie stepped forward and gave him the tightest of hugs. He hoped none of his ribs would break from the pressure of her squeeze. As he stood there with his arms around her he looked down onto her face, Yes she had aged, a few crows feet were starting around her eyes by Ellie was still the sister that he depended on since childhood. He had to whisper in her ear " I'm Sorry I got angry, it's been a very stressful time."

Before she could say anything he whispered again;

"El, you have to introduce your kids to their uncle!"

"Your Right" she said as she let him go and then turned around to face her children. "Kids, this is your Uncle Chuck! He is my brother."

Chuck could see by Ellie's words the five little ones were dumbfounded. Only Clara the eldest could understand the lineage.

"Clara is nine, Lauren is 7, Nikki is 6, Olivia is 4 and little Samuel is 2." As she said that Samuel decided he had enough and ran off into another room. Ellie and Devon sure got the production line happening.

"Do you mean that Chuck is your brother the same as Samuel being our brother?"

"That's right, Samuel is your brother just like Chuck is my brother." Ellie went on to explain, "That also makes him your uncle, and you kids are his nieces and nephew."

Ellie got the remaining kids to approach and shake Chuck's hand before rounding them up and directing them to the dinner table.

"The kids are hungry, it's a bit past their meal time, we were just waiting for you two to get home before we all eat."

The table was set for eight, Devon and Ellie had seat at either end of the table. Chuck was seated in the middle, opposite him was Clara the oldest. Beside him sat Lauren and Nikki, on the other side, Olivia was next to her mother whilst Samuel was in his highchair next to his father. Chuck understood that this was so the parents could help feed the two youngest and he didn't want to be next to someone who would or could throw their food.

Ellie came out of the kitchen with several plates balanced on her arms, a skill she learnt waitressing while still at school. Both Chuck and Ellie had after school jobs to earn their keep. Money was always an issue as the two had avoided the welfare authorities because they feared being split by some bureaucrat.

Chuck was the first to stop eating, he didn't eat much, the starvation diet he had for the last ten years meant his stomach had shrunk and he was feeling full.

Ellie look at his plate, he hadn't eaten much.

"Is the food to rich?" she asked.

"No, no, no," Chuck replied, "I can't eat much these days. The North Koreans don't feed you much. My stomach must have shrunk."

"Well if you can't eat anymore then we will put it aside in case you get hungry later on."

"Thank you."

Ellie got up and took Chuck's plate away and into the kitchen.

Chuck sort off sat there dumbfounded, he thought it would be rude to leave the table. He patiently watched as the rest of the family devoured their meals. Which meant the Devon and Ellie were taking one bite at a time while they shovelled they food into the youngest. Once the kids had finished dinner it was bath and then bedtime. Chuck moved to the lounge and watched something on television, well basically he channel surfed until Ellie reappeared, Devon was upstairs reading a bedtime story before tucking the kids into bed.

"The kids want to say goodnight to you. You will have to kiss them all good night."

Chuck got off the couch and made his way upstairs where he preceded to kiss and tuck one by one the kids into bed. It was a weird experience for him, he wondered for a moment why he was getting a little emotional doing a task the million of parents do every night. Then it dawned on him, he had eleven years stolen from him and now he was realising what he could have been missing. He had assumed that one day he would get married and settle down to raise a family then Zarnow happened and life took a wrong turn into purgatory.

Chuck quickly made his way downstairs and back into the lounge where Awesome was waiting for him.

Devon was sitting in what Chuck assumed was his chair. Chuck took a seat on far end of the couch. This way he had a back rest as he spoke to Devon. Devon asked if he wanted a drink but Chuck declined. Ellie soon turned up and sat at the end of the couch that was closest to her husband. It was obvious it was talk time.

"I would first like to say I apologise for hanging up on you the other day" Chuck began.

"It's okay" Ellie tried to interrupt.

"No. No it's not. What you don't know is this, I was debriefed by the military for several hours before the phone call. They kept asking me the same sort of questions over and over again. It was stressful and tiring. So when you and Morgan stared firing questions at me it got too much. Dr Moon insisted that I take the sedatives he handed me. The next morning I was in the dentist chair for some new teeth."

"I was going to ask you about your teeth."

"Yes, the Veterans hospital in Korea were most kind." Chuck replied with a big forced grin.

"I still getting use to them as I am still chewing on the right side."

* * *

When he found out that Chuck was flying in to be with his sister Morgan wanted to be there. The lifelong friend had even set up a web page in the hope of finding his missing friend. While Morgan would have liked to be at the airport he knew that this was an intimate family moment that should only be share between siblings. He would fly in the following morning after allowing Chuck to settle in at Ellie's house. Morgan was travelling solo, he thought that too many new faces would overwhelm Chuck. He was right about that, Chuck had to come to terms with being an uncle to five little kids. Morgan had got his family to film a welcome greeting, starting with the youngest and then working up to the two teenaged step kids and finally his wife. A group shot at the end with all shouting "Welcome Home."

Morgan got to Ellie's house early enough to have breakfast with Ellie and her children, Chuck wasn't out of bed yet so Morgan took the time to talk to Ellie about the preceding years. Both of them talked about their families and of course how wonderful that Chuck has returned.

* * *

Why five? Morgan asked.

Ellie looked at him.

"Chuck wasn't the only one with abandonment issues, I'd lost everyone except Devon. Devon understood my mindset that's why we got married so soon after Chuck disappeared. I wasn't going to let Devon get away. I made him stop all his extreme sports. I couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt or killed. I didn't want him to mope around the house either so I planned to have babies straight away. He must have wondered what sort of nympho he married as I would pounce on him like a woman possessed. He knew what I was up to and he didn't seem to mind. I wanted a baby straight away and soon enough along came Clara."

"Yeah, but why five?"

"Well you know how it is, you have one and there is a big adjustment to your life, having to deal with baby issues and how it restricts your freedom to do things on a whim. The second one comes along and it's only a minor adjustment, but you seem to know what you're doing by now. Before you know it its three, four and five. Throw in the help of Devon's mother, Honey, and it's more the merrier."

"I don't believe you." Morgan declared

"Devon wanted a son and heir, it just took a little longer than want he expected. Four wonderful daughters later he finally gets a son."

Morgan nodded his head, "yeah that's what I thought."

The topic finally came round to Chuck

"So how is he?" Morgan asked.

"He's a…" Ellie paused, "They really did a number on him." She paused again, "And here he is now. Good morning Chuck!" Ellie tried to recover as Chuck had appeared half way through her conversation with Morgan. Morgan snapped his head around to see he old friend standing there in a plain white button down shirt and a pair for new blue jeans. Chuck just stood by the dinner table.

"Take a seat Chuck." Morgan jestered. "It's good to see you face to face."

Check slowly lowered and slid into a chair on the opposite side of the table. He sat diagonally across from Morgan to give as much space as he could from him. Morgan knew straight away that this was a defensive move on Chuck's account. While he was a little disappointed he knew that after what Chuck had been though that this in some way was expected. Chuck looked at him and shook his head.

"I can't believe you have shaved!" Chuck stated.

"My wife prefers the clean look."

Chuck's response was to raise his eyebrows, then he laughed

"I expected you to be married but not the manager of a Buy More."

"I had to grow up and be the man I was always going to be." was Morgan's reply.

* * *

"There is something important I want to discuss with you." Morgan was serious, "Chuck, I've been fielding offers for you to be interviewed for television."

"Why?"

"They want to hear your story. How you survived, How you coped? How America has changed since you left?"

"Sis? What do you think?"

"It's up to you. But if it was me I would want a qualified professional."

"Well I do have an offer from Dr. Phil. He is qualified."

 **Coming up next Chuck gets interviewed by Phil McGraw.**

 **I enjoy reading your reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6: Public Exposure

**Chapter 6:** **Public Exposure.**

Doctor Phil McGraw had a very nice house, he could afford it for he had one of the best rating television shows in America. McGraw who is an author, psychologist, and the host of the television show Dr Phil. McGraw got his start after befriending Oprah Winfrey in the late 1990s. His show popularity saw it syndicated across the country.

It was Morgan who suggested that Chuck accept an appearance on Dr Phil's show. Morgan was acting as Chuck's manager and was receiving many offers for interviews with Bartowski. Morgan wanted someone who was qualified, he feared that some narcissist journalist would prod and push Chuck too far, better to have someone who knew what they were doing. When Chuck was at the Buy More he often watched some of Dr Phil's show on the wall of television with Morgan. Morgan negotiated an large appearance fee for Chuck, he also believed Chuck would be in good hands. Everybody were curious in what sort of house Dr Phil lived in so as part of the negotiations it had to be filmed at Phil's place.

The interest in the Chuck Bartowski story had the show aired later in the evening across the country, in Virginia, Amy Barrett watched the show while enjoying a glass or two of red wine with her friend Sarah Walker in Sarah's apartment. The network chiefs decided that the content would be too emotional for younger viewers. The producers projected a warning for the viewers that some may find the contents of this story disturbing.

The show opened with an voice over monologue from Dr Phil, Phil explained the process of the show and the lead up events of what Chuck Bartowski experienced and the how things have come to this point. Doctor Phil explained that there was over five hours of filming, only 48 minutes was eventually shown on air. The reason for the editing was the content wasn't deemed appealing to the general public. Only some of the horrors that Chuck had to endure was aired.

It was clear from the start that Chuck Bartowski was a damaged man, he couldn't sit still for any length of time, having to get up out of the chair and walk around, often in circles, when he tried to explain some point or experience. The doctor showed film of Chuck with active leg syndrome, he would jiggle his leg and when he tried to stop then the other leg would take over, hence the desire to stand. While standing Chuck had a tendency to move around, this made the cameraman work for his paycheck as Chuck roam around the various rooms.

At one time Chuck got so emotional he got up and ran into his sisters waiting arms. It appeared that Ellie was going to be his emotional support for the foreseeable future. But like a trooper once he regained composure he pressed on.

To the television audience it appeared that most of the show was shot in Dr Phil's pool room. Chuck would often be seen by Phil's full size pool table, sometimes with a pool cue in his hand. Chuck also used the pool balls to demonstrate a point he was trying to convey.

"Chuck Bartowski, thank you for joining us"

"Thank you for asking me, and thank you for sharing your lovely home."

"In your own words, tells us a little about your background?"

"I was born in Connecticut as the younger brother to my sister Eleanor. When we were very young our parents moved us to Echo Park in Los Angeles. My mother was on the road a lot and Dad would cook for us. I last saw my mother when I was nine. She packed her bags and left without saying goodbye. My father became our prime carer so he started working for home. He would lock himself in his office and we had to bang on the office door when we were hungry. He wasn't the best parent. My father had told me about how lucky I was to have a father as his had been killed in the war. Someone to love and guide me as I grew up." Chuck rolled his eyes then continued, "Dad disappeared when I was twelve!"

"Did you report him missing?"

"Ah no, the problem for Ellie and me was that we were both underage, if we reported him missing then Child Services would get involved. There would be a chance that El and I would get separated and we didn't want to risk that. Remember Mom had already walked out a few years earlier."

"How did you survive financially?"

"The first year was tough , we both got jobs, paying the minimum wage which we did after school. Later on the bank sent some new replacement cards for Dad's bank accounts. Ellie used the cards to get badly needed funds for us to live. Then when Ellie was eighteen she had some luck in winning a lottery. It was enough to get her into medical school. I got work at the local Buy More , my friend Morgan Grimes was working there and he put a good word in for me. I started my time being a stockboy until they noticed that I knew a thing or two about computers so they made me a Nerd Herder."

I won a scholarship to Stanford to do an engineering diploma but I never finished it, I returned to live with my sister and work at the Buy More.

Why do you think you were taken?

"I discovered that a US military scientist was a traitor. He was selling US secrets to the North Koreans! And before you ask, he used to work closely with my father."

Dr Phil allowed Chuck to continue.

"Twenty five years ago my father went missing, He said he was going out to get ingredients for pancakes but he never returned. I had been searching for him ever since. I knew that my father worked at a government facility and I had a fair idea it was top secret. One thing I did have was a photograph of Dad and his colleagues. After many years of searching and turning up nothing on my father I started to investigate the other people in that photo. The more I learnt about Dad's colleagues the more I discovered one of them wasn't legit. I was chasing a lead dealing with what one of his colleagues was up to, I admit I hacked into the banking records and I discovered that one of them was receiving large sums of money to his offshore bank accounts. The source of the money was from North Korea. Somehow he knew that I knew what he was up too. I guess he wanted to silence me without the need to kill me."

"Which leads us to the North Koreans"

There was obviously some editing happening here, Chuck suddenly was in another room to answer the next part of the interview.

"I have no idea on how they got me to North Korea. I believe that I was drugged for the most part. I have some vague memories of smelling salt and oil. And a feeling of gently rocking."

"What happened once you were in North Korea? Were you ever interrogated?"

"I got my jaw broken. They sent this goon in to soften me up for questioning but he hit me too hard. They knocked me out cold. They smashed in the left side of my face. Broke my jaw and I lost most of my teeth on the left side."

"Good lord!" Dr Phil gasped, he was genuine shocked by this revelation. "Is it okay to talk about it?"

"Sure." Chuck replied haphazardly, "One of the officers lead the biggest Korean I ever saw into my cell and I guess he hit me. I woke up in a hospital and they had to keep me heavily sedated. One of the doctors that could speak English told me about my injuries, broken jaw, broken eye socket, broken cheekbone and missing a dozen teeth. The doctors and nurses treated me quite well considering and I knew they were reluctant to send me back."

It took months after that I was even fit enough to talk, I had my jaw wired shut so it could heal, I drank soup through a straw. I was never interrogated again after that incident, the guards were told not to communicate with me."

The guard never knew that I could understand almost everything they said. One or two over the years got a little suspicious but I never directly engaged with them. I generally just nodded for yes and shook my head for no. I always had a fascination with Korea because my grandfather was killed in the "Battle of Bloody Ridge". My father had told me so I was always curious, I had always wanted to visit the site to honour my grandfather. It's just North of the border and access is restricted. I learnt Korean while at elementary school, by I never really let on to the guards that I knew what they were talking about.

"Did you ever think you would die?"

"All the time at the start but as the years went by not so much. On numerous occasions they would drive me old to old quarry and chain me to a large post next to the quarry wall. Then a group of soldiers would line up and raise their rifles."

"Like a firing squad?"

Chuck nodded his head. He held up the cue-stick as if it was a rifle.

"The first time they did it I pissed my pants. The soldiers then lowered their rifles, point at me with their arms and laughed. Very humiliating. They left me chained to the post all day until sunset before they collected me for the evening.

The second time they put me in front of the firing squad, they fired and deliberately missed. I could hear the bullets whistle by me, the fear gave me chest pains and I thought I'd been hit, only I wasn't hit at all. I was having an anxiety attack, and was suffering incredible pains in the chest area. I was struggling to breathe. The officer in charge of the firing squad finally realised that I needed medical treatment. I ended up in hospital for a couple of days for the chest pains.

"How many times were you in front of a firing squad?"

The third and last time I was so disappointed that I survived I called them "Bastards."

* * *

"How did Chuck Bartowski survive?"

"He didn't, he's buried in an unmarked grave."

"Then who are you?"

"I'm the phoenix that rose from his ashes, like Fawkes in the Harry Potter books."

"Do you really believe that?"

"If I think too deeply about it I get depressed."

* * *

"Do you have any theories on why our government didn't find you?"

Chuck paused as he was deep in thought, the words came out slowly in a flat monotone;

"The man that abducted me didn't know my name. I didn't have any ID on me when he snatched me. I foolishly revealed myself by challenging him. He just knew what I looked like. Somehow he passed me over to the North Koreans. The North Koreans didn't know who I was. I was never asked for my real name. No one ever called me Chuck.

One guard called me 'Sasha' once or twice, but I never responded to that name. Mostly I was called "Pisspants".

Chuck paused again, he had a moment, a small smile then a frown,

"The first time I was in hospital, with my smashed up face so I was covered in bandages, I was moved in the middle of the night into another room. I was awake but I didn't let on, I kept my eyes closed but I could feel the bed moving. I could sense that I was in a different room. Once the medical crew left I opened my eyes and I was right about being in a different room. I was from then on treated by the same doctor but different nurses except one, I saw her briefly the next day and I stared at her, just before she left the room she gave me a wink.

A couple of weeks later after I recovered I was sent to a different gulag. That's where I was call 'Sasha'."

"Are you saying that they swapped you with someone else?" Dr Phil wanted clarification.

"Anything is possible" was Chuck's reply. "Maybe they thought all white guys look the same."

"Was that the worst thing they did to you?"

"You know they, smashed my face, broke my jaw, caused me to lose a lot of teeth but I reckon it was the contempt they had for me. You know they would take the kids out of school to throw stones at me. I'd be planting seeds in the field and a teacher with a group of kids would march up and he would get them to throw stones at me. It was a regular occurrence, throw stones at the white man."

"Did they know you were American?"

"I think they presumed that any white man in North Korea would be an American. I would just move deeper into the field and out of throwing distance. If they followed after me the teacher would yell at them in Korean that they were standing on their food!"

"One day they came in and told me that my government had declared me dead. I don't know why they did this, perhaps it was another humiliation tactic they employed. I think it had the opposite of what they hoped for, I understood I was now the walking dead, a zombie, just moving on and following whatever orders was issued to me. I been held for a couple of years by now and I thought it was an irrational step to take. They could have killed me at any time of their choosing but they didn't. Why kill me today when they could have last week? Nothing had changed in the world of captured Chuck. They still fed me, they still verbally abused me, life was still miserable, still the same."

"What about the day they set you free?"

"It was just like every other day, the service hatch opened and I received my breakfast, plain rice and a cup of weak green tea. After I had eaten, the door unlocked and four guards came in a bundled me out the door. They quickly frog marched me outside and into the back of a troop carrier. I was wondering if they were going to take me to the quarry again. More fun and games. The Koreans don't feed prisoners that they are about to execute. It's a waste of food and food is a valuable commodity. Anyway on the back of the truck I could not see where we were going, it was still dark, suddenly without warning one of the guard gave me a coat to put on. It was dark and cold and I was shivering. I was grateful for the random kind act of kindness, something I rarely if ever got.

The next thing I know, the truck slowed down, stopped and then reversed to finally stopping for good. Then I was ordered out and so I climbed off the back of the truck. After that they told me to follow a red painted line and that it lead me onto the bridge. I suddenly had this cold sensation, it sent a chill up my spine, I was actually expecting to be shot in the middle of the bridge. This is why I took the coat off, I didn't want the kind soldier to have his coat riddled with bullet holes. When the South Koreans ran down with their rifles drawn I thought I was going to get it from both sides."

* * *

"So you have been invited to the White House."

"Yes. Next Thursday, the seventeenth."

"Is it exciting to meet the President?"

"Yes. Very. I want to thank him personally for getting me home!"

Well it's been one hell of a journey! Thank you for sharing with us. " Dr Phil closed.

"Hell is the right word for it." Chuck countered

* * *

By the time the credits had rolled on the screen Sarah had gone through a box of tissues, Amy was well on the way through her second box. Sarah got up out of her chair and went and put the kettle on. She returned minutes later with more green tea. The show had a strong effect on the women as by the number of soggy tissues could attest. Amy was the first to speak.

"Sarah? Do you still have security clearance for the White House?"

Sarah nodded her head and then asked "Why?"

"We know Trump has invited Chuck to the White House next week and I thought it would be nice that we could be there."

The blue eyed blonde looked at her friend with a quizzing look.

"We could just co-incidentally bump into Chuck."


	7. Chapter 7: The White House

**Chapter 7: The White House**

Sarah looked at her image in the mirror and still wasn't happy with what reflected back at her. She had been through her wardrobe and practically tried on every outfit she owned. One or two of her outfits would be perfect if she was ten years younger. She is a woman in her late thirties now not a twenty something .

Worst of all she wasn't happy no matter what she did with her hair, she tried putting her hair up and tried for something fancy but it just looked wrong. It looked just as bad when she let it hang free off her shoulders.

Nothing worked.

She was stressed out in frustration. She had been up all night trying to find a look that work but she was no closer than when she started. She wanted to look impressive but not over the top, this was the White House after all she was going to so she needed to blend in, the formal but casual for daytime look, there will lots of VIP's and media there.

Fussing over her outfit was interrupted by an expected knock on her door. Amy would accompany her to the White House, Amy was going to drive her there. Which is good and bad, good for Amy would supply moral support and bad so Sarah couldn't listen to her own insecurities and not be able chicken out.

She had taken on the hardest criminals with private armies in the jungles of Columbia but to face the man she let down was going to be a whole lot harder. What if he was still angry at her? Or even worst, what if he didn't remember her?

That thought made no sense. What should come as second nature feels like the most difficult task anyone's ever asked of her. Would he still recognize her? Would he still care? He's been through hell and is he really back, he said himself that a major part of him died over there.

"It's the dress, isn't it?" she asked to her best friend, looking down at herself with a critical eye. She has no idea what came over her this morning except that she was frantically searching through her closet for something suitable and this dress said 'wear me'. But now she sees the error in listening to the erratic thoughts going through her head. She feels she looks awful.

"Sarah, your outfit is fine."

Yellow isn't really her colour and neither is white. The royal blue blazer makes her look like a flight attendant.

"I look like a flight attendant!" she fussed.

"Sarah, honey, you look great." Amy reassured, "and it's time to go."

Amy drove their way onto the freeway and traffic is heavier that what Sarah is used too. Amy, ever the well-trained agent, keeps her eyes on the road and didn't say a word. It's only when she reaches for the radio knob to change the station that Amy notices Sarah's hands are trembling.

"Stop. Pull over. I need to go back and change."

Amy shook her head. "No can do. We're on a tight schedule. Your outfit is fine. Why does it matter anyway?"

"It just does," Sarah insisted.

"Sarah, you're one of the only women I know that can make a sack of potatoes look good."

"Come on, it'll take like two minutes, max."

"Sarah, your outfit is fine. It's a lovely dress and it highlights your womanly curves. Remember he's a man, and you know how they think. Besides you're one of the only women I know that looks good in anything."

* * *

When she passes through at the security checks there's was a young male agent waiting for her,

"Are you my escort?" Sarah asked.

"Instructor Walker!" he knew her. He was relatively young, still in his mid-twenties, and dressed in the most conspicuous black suit and sunglasses.

Sarah tilts her head slightly and a small smile. "That's me." The secret service had often sent personnel to Langley for Sarah's courses. This agent remembered her hence the title Instructor. Sarah hadn't remembered him, there had been far too many that passed through her gym to remember them all.

"This way if you please."

Walking though the hollow halls Sarah made her way to the executive wing of the White House. Sarah knew that the President rarely greeted guests to the Oval office, he would normally meet in a large media room down the hall. This was because there often was a large contingent of press people milling about trying to get their by-lines right.

Sitting quietly by himself in the hallway waiting to be called was Chuck Bartowski. One of the White House aides had told him to sit there and she would call him when the President was ready for him. Chuck hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings when she walked right up to him and stood next to a vacant chair next to his. The first he noticed was of her perfume; he had closed his eyes and breathed the scent in.

He opened his eyes and raised himself out of his chair as he looked at her, Sarah looked and studied him. The hair was shorter than what she would have liked but thankfully the beard and moustache were gone. His short back and sides revealed that he had some grey hair around his ears. His face was pale, gone was the colour from the Californian sun, too many years kept underground and away from direct sunlight. The paleness of his skin also revealed the history of his time incarcerated; there were tell-tale remnants of faded scars, especially around his jawbone, eyes and eyebrows. The regime had certainly giving him a working over, probably many times.

She looked deeply into his eyes, the life force that was there when he was younger was no longer there. Sullen would be the word she'd use to describe them.

She was surprised that Chuck's nose was straight. It's usually the first thing to break during an interrogation. Maybe they straighten his nose in the hospital.

His teeth were white and straight, the South Korean Military dentists had worked on his mouth during his recovery and stay, making sure he was healthy enough to be flown home to the US.

She started to say "Sorry I failed you" but Chuck stopped her mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry I didn't do what you told me. I should have stayed in the car."

"Did you hear what I said?"

Sarah had wanted to apologise but clearly Chuck had ignored it, he went on rambling on how everything was his fault. He disobeyed orders, he jumped to conclusions, he wouldn't stay in the car, he wouldn't run and hide, he wouldn't trust the professionals and he didn't believe in her.

She had to stop him so she grabbed his face with both hands to focus him on her.

"I'll forgive you but only if you forgive me?"

Chuck just looked at her, it was as if he was trying to calculate the next move. He didn't reply to her question but came out with something she didn't expect. He stepped forward and hugged her and he wasn't letting go. She returned the gesture by hugging him back. Chuck buried his nose in her hair and breathed in the scent. Sarah noticed just how skinny he was, he was little more than a skeleton in a suit. They stood there in an embrace and neither were keen to be the first to let go.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you" Sarah managed to say while holding back on the tears.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my memory of you true. I tried but I'm sorry. I went through a phase of hating you and I forgot what you looked like. When it dawned on me that it wasn't your fault but mine I couldn't remember what you looked like. I re-created an image of you but it wasn't the same. You are far lovelier than what I could envisage."

Just like that Sarah was overcome with a hot flush. She didn't believe that Chuck would rehearse that sort of line on her, he wasn't the type, well he wasn't the type back then and now he was still reluctant to let go of the hug. Sarah really wanted just to melt into him.

* * *

Inside the White House media room the was a large a crowd of reporters and camera crews from all the various media outlets. There was low murmurs throughout the room as the press wasn't sure why the President had called for this address.

At a quarter past the hour The President entered and the room fell to silence.

"Will you all stand for the President of the United States of America!"

There was shuffling of noise as people stood up as a matter of courtesy for the President. The noise changed to sounds of cameras taking photos as it always happened when the President enters the room. As he made his way to the podium some eagle eyes reporters noticed his was carrying a velvet case and what appeared to be a picture frame.

He put both items on the podium before stepping back to allow the press secretary to use the microphones.

"I want to thank you all for being here today, today is a special day in which the President will present the highest civilian award of the United States of America."

The room full of reporters gasped at the announcement.

The White house aid stepped away and allowed the President to step up to the podium. The room again fell to a hush.

"When I took the office, nothing in the briefings I received had no mention of anything about a Charles Bartowski. When he was released it took the White House by surprise. This is an act of good faith by the North Korean government. His release offers hope that the deal I made with Kim Jung-un will continue to move forward.

Charles Bartowski as a civilian managed to foil an assassinated attempt on General Emmerson Stanfield. You may be surprised to hear about this assassination plot because up to recently the matter was classified. I declassified it. The public has the right to know. For some reason this was hush hush, but it's a wonderful story and America should know about the actions that a wonderful citizen, like this man did.

Charles Bartowski was supposed to receive this award in 2007 on the recommendation of the 43rd President George W. Bush. Unfortunately Charles was abduction by enemy agents in retaliation for his selfish act of courage. Why the previous administrations failed to move heaven and earth to get Mr Bartowski released is a national disgrace.

In 2007 Charles Bartowski, a civilian, interpreted a series of cryptic messages he received via his computer managed to deduce a plot to kill General Emmerson Stanfield. Charles doing his civic duty notified both the CIA and NSA. The CIA and NSA both sent agents to interview Mr Bartowski and with his help managed to reveal where this terrible deed would take place. The two agents told Mr Bartowski that his part was done and he should keep clear and out of danger. Bartowski ignored their request and entered the building putting his own life in jeopardy, help locate the explosive device. With seconds remaining Mr Bartowski managed to disable the detonator of the bomb using the skills he learnt as an civilian.

How about that, not only does he find the bomb that the security services missed but he also disables the bomb. He quickly devised a solution and saved many, many people. This man is smart, like me, only a different kind of smart.

Charles Bartowski is a true American hero.

Mr Charles Bartowski will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom!

Look I could go on and on but you don't want that right? Right. Of course, so without me going on to reap more praise for this fine American. It is my great pleasure to welcome to the Media room, Mr Charles Bartowski."

* * *

"They're calling for you. You better not keep the President waiting."

Chuck didn't want to move but Sarah was right, you don't want to keep the President waiting. They were no longer embracing, but they were standing toe to toe, Sarah couldn't help herself by brushing the lint of the shoulders of Chuck's suit. Chuck just looked down on her as he watched her do it.

"Sorry, I just can't help myself." She said with a miscellaneous grin.

He nodded.

"Promise me you'll be here when I come back."

"I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere. I lost you once I'm not going to lose you again."

Reluctantly they released each other's hand, Chuck moved away in the direction the White House staffer wanted him to go.

 **AN: The motive to this story was after watching the Singapore meeting between Trump and Kim. That led to the "What If" scenario if Zarnow was successful and kidnapping Chuck. As per usual, I wrote the ending first then had to fill in the rest.**

 **I used Amy as Sarah's friend, she was the best fit, at the time Zondra hated her and Carina's morals wouldn't allow Sarah to wallow in her self pity.**

 **If anyone has any ideas for making this story going forward, feel free to PM me.**


	8. Chapter 8: Aftermath

**Chapter 8: Aftermath**

With the medal safely around his neck the media was there taking a million photos, flashguns were going off at a record rate. It was getting too much for Chuck and the President could sense that his hero of the day was getting overwhelmed. The President lent in close enough to whisper into his ear,

"Do you want to get out of here?"

A nod from Chuck then the President gently guided Chuck to move behind the President's body and then the President escorted Chuck out the door. The President has a large frame which easily shielded the very skinny Chuck from the media pack.

And waiting on the other side of the door was Sarah and she grabbed her man. With a quick nod to the President, Sarah guided him away from the media room and left down the corridor. A White House aide opened a door to the right and smiled as they hurried in.

Sarah had guided Chuck into the Oval Office. The President's room where all the important decisions were made. The most revered room in America.

Chuck was dumbfounded, he never thought that he would ever be inside the Oval Office. Even as a child he could never imagine that he would ever be standing in the halo room. He stood wide-eyed and slowly rotated around to take it all in. While he was rotating he raised his right hand up to his chest and then grasp the medal.

"I don't deserve this." Chuck was referring to the medal.

Sarah stepped forward and held his right hand that was grasping the medal.

"Oh yes you do. What you did on the night we first met was one of the bravest acts I've ever experienced."

She paused to let her comment sink in whilst keeping a firm grip on Chuck.

"General Stanfield would want to see that your bravery that night be rewarded."

Suddenly their silence in the room was interrupted, the President had entered the Oval office and walked over to the couple. The President presented his right hand to offer a handshake of the latest Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

"Charles Bartowski, It's good to finally meet you!"

First he shook Chuck's hand before turning his attention on the other person in the room. Then he offered his hand to Sarah.

"Ms Walker, it's good to see you too." Sarah was surprised that the President knew her name before realising that one of the White House aides would have told the President before he entered the room.

They both replied in unison "It's nice to meet you too Mr President."

"Chuck, after reading the citation, just how did you defuse the bomb?"

Chuck look at the President and he was mute, maybe he didn't remember how he did it. It was Sarah who told the President what he wanted to know.

"Chuck stopped the bomb by downloading a virus that caused the computer to crash! The computer was the detonator for the bomb."

"Interesting." The President said, "How do you know about this?"

"I was there, I was the CIA agent."

The President tilted his head and smiled.

"Well the country is in safe hands!" he commented.

That comment got a restrained laugh from everybody in the room.

"I want to give my personal gratitude for the actions you two did. I wanted to take the time to thank you personally. And to say that the actions of people like you two help make this country great."

The President then moved to his desk and got an envelope out of one of the drawers. He returned to where Chuck and Sarah were standing and offered the envelope to Chuck.

"As a personal gift from me, I would like you to accept this Membership card that will entitle you to stay at a Trump hotel or resort for up to two weeks every year. You will be able to stay in an executive suite and have all the privileges the card entails."

After spending fifteen minutes talking to the President it was finally time to go, the President had a busy schedule to keep and he had to get on with the next line of business for the day. Chuck and Sarah left together after having their picture taken with "Mr 45."

"Please take the time to have lunch in the White House dining room."

Inside the White House dining room Chuck and Sarah managed to take their plate of food to a spare table. Sarah had noticed that Chuck's plate consisted of streamed rice and a few greens.

"You seem to like rice. I thought that after all this time you'd be sick of the sight of it."

"Unfortunately after all those years in Korea it's about the only thing I can stomach." He said looking down at his plate.

"I used to spend my time thinking about what tasty dish I could desire but now with the opportunity I find I can't seem to keep anything down. I even struggle with supplements."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said.

Sarah, herself had a plate of chicken salad. It was always in the back of her mind that she must eat healthy and not get fooled by the invisible calories in other foods.

Sitting at the table Chuck heard his phone chirp; he pulled out of his pocket and looked at the text. It was from Morgan,

 ** _'_** ** _Have you seen the President's twitter feed?'_**

Sarah looked up from her meal and asked, "What is it?"

"Morgan sent me a text to check out the President's twitter feed. What's Twitter?"

"Umm, Twitter is an app that allows people to post silly things online."

Sarah got curious, so she got out her phone and brought up the President's twitter account. She scrolled through his feed and then paused when she saw it.

"Oh no." she said disappointedly.

"What is it?" Chuck replied.

She when silent for a moment and Chuck could tell she was in two minds about something.

"It doesn't matter. A silly thought really."

She turned her phone around so Chuck could see the screen. On the screen was a photograph that the President had posted of the three of them in the Oval office. Chuck tilted his head and gave a confused look. Sarah had to explain.

"He's just plastered my face all over the internet. I can no longer be a spy because everybody knows who I am."

"Are you still spying?"

"No. I could go back to it one day."

Chuck looked at her bemused.

"Your right, I don't do it anymore. Like I said it was a silly idea."

"So… What is it that you do now?" Chuck was reaching

"I'm an instructor at Langley. I teach martial arts."

"Do you? I suppose you would need to know kung fu and the likes being an agent."

They both nodded and then continued with their meals.

Sarah asked, "So what are your plans?"

"I don't have much planned, I've got a room at the Mercure."

Sarah tilted her head in interest.

"Ah, it's an executive suite, it's really nice, and it even has a spa and a great view of the city."

Sarah asked, "So what are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?"

"I thought I'd take advantage of going and seeing the Smithsonian Museum."

"Would you like some company?"

"It would be nice."

"There is a lot to see so I suggest we better get started!"

It was getting dark by the time the museum closed for the evening. There was a chill beginning to fill the air.

"It's getting cold now." Chuck had his hands in his coat pockets, "Why don't we get a hot drink?"

"Good idea. Umm how about we walk to my place? It's only a couple of blocks away."

"Okay."

Sarah was right; her apartment was about a fifteen minute walk from the Smithsonian. Her apartment was on the top floor of a complex. You required several different keypads to get into the apartment, first at the locked gate in the front, then the front security apartment block door, and finally into Sarah's apartment. Chuck allowed Sarah to enter her home first, and then he took in the way she had decorated it. He noticed that Sarah's apartment was colourless, the walls were painted a cream colour and the carpet was a industrial grey, it sort of reminded him of the carpet in the entertainment lounge at the old Buy More where he used to work. A few pascal flowers prints were on her wall. It looked like a hotel room to be honest. The one thing that that made it homely was the fact she had a full bookcase. It was obvious that she an avid reader.

Sarah re-appeared from the kitchen after putting the kettle on for hot drinks, she offered Chuck a tour of her place, it wasn't very big, as it consisted of only four rooms. The only real color in the place was Sarah's bedspread and the towels in her bathroom.

After the tour Sarah made two cups of camomile tea and the pair sat down and drank them. There was a little bit of awkwardness as a silence came between them., not sure what to say Chuck came out with:

"You have a decent library!"

"Yes I prefer to read than to watch television."

"Okay."

There was a pause again so Sarah spoke up.

"Are you hungry?"

"I am."

"I only got a couple of frozen TV dinners! We can heat them up in the microwave."

"Yeah that's fine."

After dinner the couple talked about their personal medical issues. Sarah and Chuck were sitting on her beige coloured couch, she was sitting with her legs tucked under her and looking at Chuck who was looking rather tired.

"Well I suppose I'd better get going!"

"You can always stay with me tonight, I don't bite."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. You are more than welcome."

"No I better get going, they paid for the Suite so I feel I ought to use it."

"Well how about I put the kettle on for another cup of tea before you go?"

"Okay"

Sarah got up to put the kettle on; when she got back Chuck had fallen asleep on the couch. She watched him for a little bit and while he looked adorable she didn't want him sleeping there for the night especially when there was room in her bed for two.

"Chuck…Chuck…Chuck, wake up. Come on, Chuck, wake up and come to bed. I've got it nice and warm and I know how cold you must be…Chuck, please wake up and come to bed."

Chuck heard a nagging voice telling him to get up and go to bed. He wasn't exactly warm where he was but he wasn't cold either. Still, the voice was compelling and seductive and the warm bed.

"C'mon, up, let's go sweetie. Bed. Warmth. Sleep."

He stirred enough to sit up and then got to his feet without opening his eyes. Sarah grabbed him and then guided him to her bedroom and placed him on the right side of the bed

"When you wake up you can shower and we will have breakfast together"

"Sorry I dozed out on you. I didn't realize how tired I must be."

With his back to her, he stripped off his clothes and without so much as another sound collapsed into the bed pulling the covers over him and was asleep within seconds.

She was shocked and amused at his actions and at his apparent disregard for her presence when he stripped off and got into bed. She saw for the first time just how skinny he was now, even though he was back in the States it appeared that he hadn't put much weight on.

Yawning and filing away what she'd just seen for later analysis, she stripped out of her clothes, putting on one of Chuck's old t-shirts she stole after he disappeared. She snuggled up against his back, threw an arm around him and absorbed the warmth radiating from him until she too fell asleep.

She woke with a start, Chuck was thrashing about in his sleep, he was struggling to release himself from her grasp. She had to make sure she could evade his thrashing arms as he seemed to relive whatever horror he had experienced. She rolled him away from her so he was on his side and then she lay on top of him.

"Chuck, Chuck. Its okay, I'm with you. Wake up Chuck. You're safe, You're safe."

Chuck was taking short breaths, a lot of short breaths. She could feel that Chuck was starting to relax a little, his breathing was getting more relaxed, then he opened his eyes and looked at her, first confused and then he smiled. She got off him and Chuck rolled back onto his back.

"How did I get here?" he asked

"You fell asleep on my couch, so I put you here because it is more comfortable."

"Sorry. I haven't had my evening medication," he apologized.

"What does your medication do?"

"Basically it's stops me from having bad dreams."

"So it's a sleeping tablet?"

"Yeah. Funny thing is I only started having flashbacks once I got back stateside."

She nodded at his comment and rolled away from him.

"How about you use me as a cuddle buddy. Come on roll this way and put your arm around me."

Chuck did what was requested of him, he rolled onto his side and then adjusted his position so he was spooning Sarah. He put his arm around her and took in the scent of her hair. Both of them well soon back to sleep.

In the morning after breakfast Sarah had an idea.

"You've seen my place , how about I see yours?" she giggled

Chuck laughed, "You mean my suite? Okay."

"I'll just pack a few things."

They left Sarah's apartment early so Chuck could get to his hotel and take his morning medication. He had the chance to show Sarah his suite, it was very nice, and it even had a big triangular spa bath. After the brief tour they decide to continue to explore the Smithsonian but not before Sarah leaves her small overnight bag that she brought with her in his suite.

They return to the Smithsonian for a full day looking around the exhibits. Sarah took the time to observe see that the old Chuck was still apart of this man. The years and the gulag may have suppressed him but now at the Smithsonian the personality was front and centre. He may be older and have a lot of baggage but Chuck was still Chuck.

In the evening after spending all day in the Smithsonian, and dinner, they return to Chuck's suite. They both seemed to be tired and Chuck used his card to open his suite's door. Chuck opted to change in the bathroom and clean his teeth. This gave Sarah time to rummage through her bag for a surprise for Chuck. When Chuck came out of the bathroom he noticed that the main room light was off and a softer bedside lamp was on instead. Chuck didn't see Sarah until he was well away from the door. She was standing next to the mirror wearing only a purple see thru babydoll with matching g string. She had her back to him but she could see him from the reflection of the mirror. She had her arms crossed across her chest as she slowly turned to face him. Sarah uncrossed her arms to reveal her perky breasts as she stepped towards him. The physical effect on Chuck was all on display as the bulge in his silk boxers protruded in front of him. Sarah was delighted by the effect she had on him and she closed the gap as she stood on her toes to give him a kiss. She then pushed Chuck onto the bed and climbed on top.

Somewhere under the crumbled bedsheets two pairs of legs were intertwined, the legs owners where resting after a long passionate lovemaking session. Chuck was lying on his back staring at the ceiling as he held a naked woman who was half lying on top of him. He had taken the scent of her perfume before he looked into the blue eyes of the woman beside him. He let a small grin then he smile and said.

"I used to fantasize when I was alone in North Korea but I can say that last night was far better than anything I ever imagined."

"Was it Sweetie?"

"Yes." He replied without hesitation "And to think that you could have spent the night alone at home." Chuck teased

Sarah raised the sheet that was covering their modesty. She looked under the sheet to see their nakedness.

"Nah! I'd rather be here with you."

Sarah wiggled up so she could kiss him on the lips then he threw his leg over her. He started kissing her on the sensitive part of her neck and then started to work his way down her body.

Sarah was delighted he initiated the morning lovemaking.


	9. Chapter 9 : A New Hope

**Chapter 9:** **A new hope**

Three days later Chuck flew back to Chicago and whilst in transit he started to feel uneasy in his chest. There was some discomfort that just made him feel a little off. It made him recall the memory of North Korea and when he had that anxiety attack at the firing squad. He was concerned but not alarmed because he still considered himself as a young man. After all Devon was again going to meet his flight and he would have a word to him.

Devon noticed that Chuck was little off colour when he greeted him at terminal as asked Chuck if he was feeling alright? After all he is a doctor and the head of a cardiothoracic department.

"Chuckster, you're looking a little off colour! Are you feeling Ok?"

"The truth is I'm not feeling the best, to be honest I seem to be having mild chest pains!"

"What sort of pain is it?" Devon asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"It's sort of like having a cat sleeping on your chest, I feel a little compressed, if you understand what I'm getting at."

Devon didn't like the sound of what Chuck was describing; he wanted to check Chuck out so he could make a diagnosis.

"Well, we have to go past my practice so I think we will have a stop there and have you checked out."

They left the airport and Devon drove to the consulting rooms. The practice was closed so Devon used his keys to open the main door then disable the security alarm system. It was cold and still inside with only the emergency lighting showing the way to a room Devon directed Chuck too. Devon turned on the room's light and then told Chuck to take his top off. Devon used his stethoscope and pressed it against Chuck's chest and told him to take a few deep breaths. Devon wasn't expecting Chuck to be so emancipated and didn't like what he saw. Devon was checking Chuck's lungs for anything out of the ordinary and then prepared to have him wired up to a ECG machine. Before turning the machine on Devon had checked Chuck's blood pressure and heart rate.

When his vital signs appeared normal he then turn on the ECG and watched the printout create a chart of Chuck's heart rhythm.

Devon ran a few more tests but the results are all negative, Devon wanted to be sure so he would do some more digging by asking Chuck what he got up to in Washington.

"So what did you do in DC?"

"I caught up with an old friend!"

Devon raised an eyebrow, "Can you be a bit more specific?"

Chuck hesitated for a moment before confessing, "It was a woman."

"Okay", Devon nodded. Chuck could read the look Devon gave him.

"I did have sleepovers."

"Okay." Devon nodded his head again. "Now these symptoms started to develop when?"

"On the plane, soon after take-off."

"Did the symptoms get worst as the plane gained altitude or did they stay the same?"

"Stayed the same!"

Devon nodded and stroked his chin with his thumb, "Have you been thinking about your friend while in flight?"

Chuck blushed, "Yeah, I have. She really is something."

"So you've being thinking about her a lot?"

"Yeah I have."

"Hmm," Devon said, "My professional opinion? Chuck, you have fallen in love!"

"You think so?" Chuck was stunned. Could it be, he wasn't going to dismiss the idea out of hand.

"I'm specializing in cardiothoracic medicine. That means there's one thing in the world I know best: the human heart. You have Classic symptoms, shortness of breath and dull chest ache. Still it's good that we checked you out, and given you the all clear."

"So I'm in love."

Devon nodded, "Yeah, I'd say so."

"Well," Chuck shook his head and smiled. "Fancy that."

"Now you know. It's a good feeling isn't it?" Devon asked.

"Mmm, Yeah." Was Chuck's reply.

"So are you going to tell her?"

* * *

Ellie didn't notice the extra time that it took to get Chuck from the airport. It was likely that flight delay which was regular occurrence at O'Hare International Airport. Anyway she was busy getting the kids settled in bed for the evening.

Later when Ellie and Devon where alone in bed Devon decided to tell about his examination of her brother. As they were snuggled down under the comforter with Ellie pressing against her husband Devon started to speak.

"I gave Chuck an examination this evening after his flight. He was complaining of having chest pains so I took him to my clinic and ran a few tests."

"Oh my God is he alright? Ellie said starting to worry.

"Physically he's fine." Devon paused, "But mentally, well not surprising after what he's been through."

"He's been through a lot, more than we can imagine!" Ellie agreed.

"He's in love!"

"Love? Who?"

"He didn't say, an old friend apparently."

"An old friend, I wonder who that could be?"

Ellie then sat up in the bed, the sudden movement caused the pulling of the comforter off her husband.

"Oh God, it better not be Jill Roberts!"

* * *

Next morning Devon had already gone to his clinic and then off to the hospital for his rounds. Ellie had done the school run for the older children, Chuck had stayed at home with the two youngest. Olivia had taken a likening to him and wanted, well insisted in sitting in his lap while demanding Chuck read to her. Young Samuel was more interested in running around the room with his favourite toy plane and stunt flying over the objects in the room.

Ellie had come home and found Chuck and the two kids in the lounge room so she took a seat on the other end of the couch. She was encouraged by the way Chuck was displaying care by the way he was reading the story to her daughter. She waited until Chuck had finished the book. It took longer than normal because Chuck added extra bits to the story. Ellie was beginning to suspect Chuck was adding to the story in a bid to hold off having to talk to her when he suddenly finished. Taking advantage of her moment she asked Chuck upfront.

"So, Devon tells me you were visiting an old friend. Do I know her?"

"I'm not sure."

"Is it Jill Roberts?"

"No. No, it's not Jill Roberts, I haven't seen her since college." Chuck said to put her mind at ease.

"If it's not Jill then who is it?"

"Her name is Sarah. I think you only met her once."

Ellis surprisingly went quiet, she was certainly processing something in her brain. While she was quiet Chuck thought of something.

"Have you checked twitter?" Chuck asked.

"Twitter, who's got the time, what with five kids and an oversized one." Ellie trying to make light of her lack of social media skills.

Chuck pulled out his phone and called up the President's twitter feed and found the photo he wanted.

"This is Sarah!" he said. "Potus had an aide take the photo."

Ellie checked the blonde in the picture. She was wearing a yellow and white dress with a blue blazer. Ellie thought she was very pretty, no wonder Chuck liked her. Ellie thought she looked like an air hostess. Then it dawned on her. Ellie got out of her seat and went to a drawer in the cupboard and pulled out a tattered manila folder. She flicked thought the contents and then found what she was looking for. Armed with the sheet in her hand she sat back down and asked him.

"Was she the girl we met on the night you disappeared?"

Chuck lowered his head and gave the back of his neck a rub. Reluctantly he gave a nod.

Ellie past the sheet to Chuck, it was a copy of the flyer Morgan had printed up in the quest to find him all those years ago. Chuck had never seen it before, he noticed that it had his Buy More photo on it. Also was a photo of Sarah Walker dressed as a Wienerlicious employee. He wondered how they got the shot. He seemed to forget that Jeff and Lester were always fooling around with digital cameras and other electronic devices but he never believed that they would actually be recording anything especially after they were threaten with dismissal after filming up some female customers skirts.

"So." Ellie changed her tone, Chuck had an idea of what was coming next.

"How much of what you said to Dr Phil were lies?" she demanded.

It was not the question Chuck thought she would ask. He paused for a moment, actually felt some relief before commenting.

"As far as I can recall I didn't lie to Dr Phil. I just left out one or two details in order to protect certain people. I couldn't go on national television and say that Sarah Walker is a CIA agent, which she still is, could I? No. But then the President opened his big mouth and there you go."

Ellie was flabbergasted by Chuck's sudden security breach.

"Sarah Walker is CIA! What really happened" Ellie was fishing now.

Chuck realised what he said and then decide that life would be easier if he confessed.

"Remember my old Buddy, Bryce Larkin, the prick who set me up to get me kicked out of Stanford? Well it turns out he was a rogue agent. He stole some sensitive government intel and for God know why sent it to me. I don't know what it was because whatever it was it managed to fry my computer. Whatever it was, was non-recoverable. Sarah was sent to investigate me because I received the email full of secrets."

* * *

"Ah Chuckster I want to have a serious talk with you." Devon requested.

Chuck was finishing another bottle of beer when Devon walked into the room. Devon could see that Chuck had a few dead soldiers scattered on the floor.

"You might want to ease up on the amount of alcohol you seem to be consuming."

Chuck had his shackles up, and Devon could observe the defensiveness of his brother in law.

"As a doctor I can see this is not going to help your condition. You shouldn't be mixing alcohol with your medication! It will do you no good. You're not my brother, you're my brother-in-law, but you are the uncle to my five kids." He paused to let the comment sink in before continuing .

"How do you like Chicago? You appear to be a fish out of water, here."

"I'm afraid everywhere is foreign to me. I have no sense of hominess here."

"Would you rather be in LA?"

Chuck just nodded his head, he didn't need to say the words.

"What about your lady friend? Sarah isn't it?"

"Yes Sarah. Um she's well entrenched in D.C."

"Do you think that she would consider moving?

"I don't know. She only got her job there, no family and as for her job, she's been there long enough to be entitled to a service pension. After that I don't know."

Devon leant forward and looked both ways to ensure no eavesdropping from any member of his family.

"What I'm about to say is strictly between you, me and these four walls!"

Chuck nodded in agreeance.

"I've had an offer."

Devon paused to let it sink in.

"Westside in L.A. want me back as a department head. I'm starting to weight up the options."

He paused again.

"I've haven't told Ellie yet and I'd like to keep it that way for a little longer. Negotiations haven't gone that far yet but it looks like I can literally name my price."

Chuck nodded and raised his eyebrows at the same time, waiting for Devon to explain more.

"If, and it's a big if, if I take this offer, I would want you to move to L.A. with us. You don't have to live in the same house as us but I would like you to be nearby. I know Ellie will want you close."

Devon's announcement took him by surprise, he hadn't felt like he could fit in around Chicago because the weather was too extreme for him. He hated the cold, and it reminded him of where he had been, North Korea was bitterly cold. He had no fat on him and the wind chilled him to the bone. L.A. was milder, and if his memories were accurate he knew much of California had to offer. His memories of the place comforted him during his imprisonment. He missed his spot on Santa Monica beach were he used to sit for hours during the hot summer nights.

* * *

Ellie got a bit of a surprise when she emptied Chuck's travel bag in the laundry. Apart from the usual items for a man, socks, underwear, shirts and trousers was a sexy purple outfit that Ellie knew was lingerie. What would Chuck be doing with matching top and panties? Ellie knew that this outfit had been worn because it smelt of perfume. She didn't want to give the outfit any closer inspection so she threw it in the washing machine.

Ellie later confronted Chuck after the kids had been tucked up in bed and Chuck was relaxing in the lounge room. She walked up in front of him and presented the purple outfit so he would see it.

"Care to explain"

Chuck gulped , he then pulled a face, opened his mouth as so to speak but then brought his hand up and covered his mouth instead. He blushed and looked rather sheepish at his sister. Ellie kept her straight face, she wasn't going to let him off the hook.

"Well?"

"It's not mine." pause "I think it's Sarah's. I umm, I think she wore it. I'm at a loss."

"How did it get in your travel bag?"

"I don't know. Do you think we should wash it and return it?"

"Oh I've washed it alright, it wasn't exactly clean. You've been having sex with her. I'm a doctor, I can tell."

Chuck went a mild shade of red so Ellie turned the screws. Looking at the lingerie, a wicked thought crossed her mind.

"You know, this is my size. Mind if I borrow it and surprise Devon one night?"

Too late, Chuck tried to avoid visualizing his sister in Sarah's lingerie, Sarah looked great wearing it and he was sure Devon would appreciate the gesture.

"Fine, go ahead." He said then he turned away and found and really interesting mark on the wall, if only he could get that vision out of his head.

* * *

Chuck elected to take a train from Chicago to Washington DC. It took him 18 hours sitting in a carriage with various other passengers. He chose the train because there was a short walk from a local line to Sarah's apartment. He had texted her before he got off the train so Sarah could be home waiting for him. She opened the door and greeted him with a kiss on the mouth and a loving hug. She let him in and offered him a hot drink, whether it by coffee or tea. Chuck opted for tea and then they sat down on her couch and they had a conversation on small talk but there was something Chuck wanted to say.

"Sarah I have something I want to declare!" He then began to ramble on. He went on about his medical incident he had with his brother-in-law. He went on about he wasn't feeling well, how he was having chest pains and the medical tests that Devon had performed on him.

"Devon specializes in cardiothoracic medicine. That means he's a heart specialist. Devon said I had fallen in love. It's true, I've fallen in love with you."

He had just come out with it. It took her a little by surprise. Chuck looked at Sarah and she was smiling, then she pounced and lunged across the couch and hugged him and kissed him. The kiss was on the mouth and full with as much passion as she could muster. After a couple of minutes of having dancing tongues they finally broke apart and as Sarah rested her forehead against Chuck's.

"I fell for you a long, long, long time ago, somewhere between fixing my phone and defusing a bomb."

Another round of heavy petting followed their declaration of love. A little later Chuck came out with a statement of fact.

"I have PTSD. They say I will need therapy and medication for the rest of my life." Chuck stated as a moment of honesty. If Sarah wanted to get involved then she needed to know the truth.

"That's OK, I have PTSD as well, I still have therapy but I don't usually need any medication." She replied as she moved in and held herself against his chest and rested her head on his shoulders. Chuck responded in kind, he wrapped his long arms around her and held on tight.

They resumed kissing when a thought popped into Chuck's head.

"Oh one more thing, I'm returning your lingerie. I am hoping to see you in it again."

"Do you now?" she purred, "I have other outfits that I'd think you would like."


End file.
